Juan Benavides is an architect who makes films. He runs a filmmaking studio focused on producing short and long-format documentaries that explore buildings with strong formal clarity, rich spatial and material conditions, and set against inspiring landscapes. At present, he is based in Europe mostly producing films and teaching at The Berlage.
Film Commissions & Inquiries
mail@juanbenavides.mx
To browse the catalog of films, please visit on your desktop browser, at vimeo.com/juanbenavidesl or follow @juanbenavidesl
︎Film Commissions & Inquiries
mail@juanbenavides.mx
To browse the catalog of films, please visit on your desktop browser, at vimeo.com/juanbenavidesl or follow @juanbenavidesl
Juan Benavides is an architect who makes films. He runs a filmmaking studio focused on producing short and long-format documentaries that explore buildings with strong formal clarity, rich spatial and material conditions, and set against inspiring landscapes.
BIO
- Juan Benavides (Monterrey, 1991) graduated in Architecture from the University of Monterrey and worked as an architect in Mexico City, leading a number of international projects and competitions. During this time, he developed an interest in film and started working closely with architects and institutions in the production of films on contemporary architecture. He was awarded the renowned Marcelo Zambrano Scholarship to study the post-master program at The Berlage, where he continues to teach.
- Juan runs a multidisciplinary practice in and around contemporary architecture with a focus on film production. Since 2014, he has made short and long-format documentaries that explore buildings with strong formal clarity, rich spatial and material conditions, and set against inspiring landscapes. His first documentary feature film, At the Garden’s Pace, premiered at the AFFR in 2024 and continues to be presented globally.
EXHIBITIONS
- 'International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam', with Nick Axel and Daniel Barber, Rotterdam, 2024
- 'International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam', with Heng Yang, Rotterdam, 2022
- 'Motion. Autos, Art, Architecture', with The Berlage, Guggenheim Bilbao, 2022
- 'Preludio', BY Galeria de Arquitectura, Mexico City, 2022
LECTURES
- ´Ten Films, One Animation, and Ten Other Films’, Nudus Academy, Rotterdam, June, 2024
- 'Many Films and One Vernissage', TU Delft, February, 2024
- ‘Notes on Filmmaking', Universidad Anáhuac, Mexico City, February, 2024
- 'Three Disclaimers, Three Fixations, One Random Journey, Three Problems, and One Vernissage', Syracuse University, 2022
- 'About Order and Other Things', UDEM, Monterrey, 2019
- 'About Composition by Collaborative Means', Graham Baba, Seattle, 2019
- 'About Divided Authorship', University of Washington, Seattle, 2019
TEACHINGS
- ‘Project Global: The Logistics of Fish and Cork’, with Sanne van den Breemer and Benjamin Groothuijse, The Berlage, Spring 2025
- 'Notes on Filmmaking', Research Colloquium, The Berlage, Fall 2024
- 'Project NL: Coast Atlas', with Sanne van den Breemer and Jules Schoonman, The Berlage, Fall 2024
- 'Project Global: The Logistics of Marble and Olives', with Sanne van den Breemer and Benjamin Groothuijse, The Berlage, Spring 2024
- 'Project NL: City Atlas', with Sanne van den Breemer and Jules Schoonman, The Berlage, Fall 2023
- 'Notes on Filmmaking', Research Colloquium, The Berlage, Fall 2023
- ‘Let’s Have a Picnic!’, Introduction Week Workshop, The Berlage, Fall 2023
- 'Project Global: The Logistics of Milk and Timber', with Sanne van den Breemer and Benjamin Groothuijse, The Berlage, Spring 2023
- 'Project NL: River Atlas', with Sanne van den Breemer, Benjamin Groothuijse, and Jules Schoonman, The Berlage, Fall 2022
- 'One Hundred Observations from and of the Dutch Landscape', Introduction Week Workshop, The Berlage, Fall 2022
- 'Design Master Class: Architecture by Auto', with Pavel Bouse and Kees Kaan, The Berlage, Fall 2021
- 'One Hundred Instructions for Discovering Delft', Introduction Week Workshop, The Berlage, Fall 2021
- 'Design Master Class: A Journey Round my Room', with Beka & Lemoine and Lucas Bacle, The Berlage, Spring 2021
FILM SCREENINGS
- ‘At the Garden’s Pace’, Filmtheater, Hilversum, May 2025
- ‘At the Garden’s Pace’, MIMIK, Deventer, February 2025
- ‘At the Garden’s Pace’, TU Delft Faculty of Architecture, February 2025
- ‘At the Garden’s Pace’, Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, World Premiere, 2024
- ‘Rain Harvest Home’, Resene Architecture and Design Film Festival, 2024
- ‘Rain Harvest Home’, International Architecture Film Festival Barcelona, 2023
- ‘Rain Harvest Home’, Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival, 2023
- ‘Rain Harvest Home’, CINETEKTON Festival Internacional de Cine y Arquitectura, 2023
- ‘Rain Harvest Home’, Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, 2023