Docar is a documentary film collective that narrates urban stories. It was created in 2023 as a platform to delve into political situations by exploring their intersections with architecture discipline.
The collective was funded by Jasper Meurer, a German-British political scientist specialized in immigration issues and social movements, and Rocio Calzado, a Spanish architect specializing in housing policy and ecological transition. After meeting at the Sciences Po research school, Jasper Meurer embarked on a career in visual research and documentary films, while Rocio Calzado collaborates with various urban design studios in France and Spain, teaches at architecture schools, and is pursuing her PhD in urban planning at the École des Ponts et Chaussées on the topic of social housing transformation. Docar combines these multidisciplinary experiences and delves into urbanism, architecture, and politics.
With the support of FAIRE, a project accelerator launched by the Pavillon de l’Arsenal and the Municipality of Paris, Docar has committed to the production and creation of their first film "De porte à porte," which is currently in production. Since 2024 Docar is a local partner of HouseEurope! and has been selected as a Lina Community Fellow 2024.
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De porte à porte is a documentary film that explores the history of seven social housing towers located along the Paris ring road, from Porte Pouchet to Porte de Poissonniers. Designed by architect Raymond Lopez in the 1960s as part of a larger urban project named Secteur 8, these towers shared architectural aesthetics and construction methods, yet their life trajectories varied significantly. While some faced demolition, others underwent transformation; some achieved architectural acclaim, while others, initially slated for destruction, have been saved and are now undergoing renovation.
Image de ville
Every year image de Ville organises a festival focussing on films dealing with architecture, urban spaces, and ecology. The festival serves as a starting point and reference for fostering encounters and dialogue between filmmakers, artists, architects, urban planners, and professionals who reflect on cities. Docar has been invited to participate in the 2024 edition. On Friday the 18th of october, Rocio and Jasper will lead a session to present the process of filming their first documentary ‘De Porte à Porte’. On Sunday 20th, they will participate in a round table with other filmmakers dealing with topics connected to architecture and urbanism.
HouseEurope! advocates for EU-laws to make renovation more affordable, easy and social. Because the demolition of existing buildings is as outdated as food waste, fast fashion and single-use plastics.
Since 2024 docar. has joined HouseEurope! as a local partner engaged in developing fieldwork and audiovisual research on housing demolitions.
The European platform LINA is a network connecting relevant institutions with emerging practitioners and thinkers who work at the intersection of architecture and other fields related to spatial culture. LINA’s goal is to steer design and building processes towards regenerative practices and principles of de-growth in line with the values of the European Green Deal.
In 2024 Docar. was selected as a featured fellow.
Focus is an yearly event created in 2020 by a national network of researchers promoting new forms of storytelling in the humanities and social sciences. Docar was selected to present in 2024 edition organised at MUCEM in Marseille.
The FAIRE program is an accelerator and incubator for architectural and urban projects that annually supports and funds a dozen teams with innovative practices and experimental approaches. It enables them to analyze, prototype, and test full-scale solutions to the major challenges in architecture, landscape, design, and society. Docar. was selected as one fo the teams for the 2023 Faire edition.