JOY WILL PREVAIL
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
Max Korman
STARRING
Griffin Dunne
Ben Rosenfield
Molly Ephraim
Jennifer Beals
Alexis Bledel
Philadelphia, 1971. Legendary architect Louis I. Kahn is at the height of his career, designing monumental structures around the world, while quietly navigating a complex personal life: Having fathered children with three different women – his wife, Esther Kahn, and two longtime partners, including landscape architect Harriet Pattison – each aware of the others.
When a young, idealistic father, Steve Korman, approaches Kahn to design a country home for his family, the architect initially declines. But, as personal and professional tensions mount, he unexpectedly agrees, beginning a three-year collaboration that serves as a creative and spiritual reckoning for both men. It would culminate in the final house that Kahn ever designed, completed shortly before his sudden and mysterious death.
PressEXCLUSIVE: Production has recently wrapped in Philadelphia on Joy Will Prevail, a period drama about the final three years in the life of architect Louis Kahn, and the relationships — both romantic and professional — that inspired his final residential commission.
“La Bola Negra,” “Fjord” and “Wild Horse Nine” were among the films announced in the first wave of programming for the Philadelphia Film Festival, which runs Oct. 15-25.
The films join a lineup that also features “Ink,” Sundance Grand Jury winner “Josephine,” “Elsinore” starring Andrew Scott and “Behemoth!,” directed by Tony Gilroy.
The 35th edition of the festival will also host the world premieres of “Big Phan,” “Gentle by Birth,” “I Don’t Want to Drink Your Blood Anymore” and “Joy Will Prevail” in its Filmadelphia section.
The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) unveiled the selection of documentaries in its Doc@PÖFF International and Baltic competitions on Wednesday, adding to the program for its 30th edition, taking place Nov. 6-2. For the second year in a row, Baltic documentaries and feature films will compete in separate programs.
Special Screenings
A Photographer in Cannes (Estonia) – dir. Kullar Viimne – World Premiere
Dangerous Liaisons (United Kingdom) – dir. Stephen Frears
JJ: Every Inch a King (Estonia) – dir. Taavi Arus – World Premiere
Joy Will Prevail (USA) – dir. Max Korman – International Premiere
Max Korman’s first film, Joy Will Prevail, couldn’t be much more personal: It’s the story of how famed architect Louis Kahn designed the house Korman grew up in.
In the 1970s, as career and personal challenges closed in on Kahn, Korman’s grandparents, Steve and Toby Korman, convinced him to build a home for their young family. Max Korman cast Ben Rosenfield and Molly Ephraim as his grandparents, and Griffin Dunne as Kahn. The impressive cast also includes Jennifer Beals, Alexis Bledel, and more.
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