Brutalist Fiction
6 min, video, sound, text
editing: Philippe Derlien
video: Philippe Derlien, Cumbernauld Museum
voices: Michael Harris, Adam Smith
filmed in Cumbernauld, Scotland
2024/2025
The short film âbrutalist fictionâ uses a combination of various documentary elements to examine the âTown Centreâ in the small Scottish town of Cumbernauld, which is threatened with demolition. As a so-called âmegastructureâ, this Brutalist-style shopping and leisure centre incorporates almost all the needs of a small town: cafĂ©s, a library, shops, a gym, a college, a church and a roller disco. Brutalism, hailed in the 60s for its functional and groundbreaking design, fell quickly into disrepute due to its polarising appearance and often dysfunctional execution. To offer a different perspective on to this structure, âBrutalist Fictionâ unites the narrative of a local city councillor and a horse breeder. Both represent different positions in different worlds, but talk about values and themes that have a universal character: Honesty, integrity, and patience. How does the words we use relate to our behaviour with built space? Is dedication to a cause or the power of memories enough to preserve real spaces? Who do we build for in the end? Located between decay, criticism and the memory of the locals, the film opts for a new way of reading this building.
