Greater Shreveport Chamber: Locally Made “Unexpected Modernism” Premiering At Palm Spring's World Renown Modernism Week

Press release from the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce:

Allyson Walker

2/22/2022

The locally produced film tells the story of Jewish architects Samuel G. and

William B. Wiener, half brothers from Shreveport, whose modernist designs of residential,

institutional, and commercial buildings from the 1930s through the 1960s made Shreveport an

early hub of International Modernist design in the United States.

Modernism Week will take place February 17 - 27, highlighting midcentury modern architecture,

art, interior and landscape design, and vintage culture in the Palm Springs area of Southern

California. The annual festival hosted over 160,000 attendees during its last in-person festival in

2020, and this year will feature hundreds of events including tours of iconic homes, walking

tours, and nightly parties. Unexpected Modernism will be the featured screening on the evening

of February 24th.

“Getting this honor has been our proudest moment for our film,” said Gregory Kallenberg,

director of “Unexpected Modernism”. “The world needs to rediscover the important work of the

Wiener brothers, and I can’t think of a better place than the incredibly influential Modernism

Week in Palm Springs.

The film had its international debut at the Film and Architecture Festival in Prague, Czech

Republic this past October. Unexpected Modernism also won a 2021 Gold Telly Award for

General Documentary.

Local fans will be able to see “Unexpected Modernism” in Shreveport on May 20. The event will

coincide with the launch of an interactive map for architectural tourists seeking out the Wiener

brothers’ work. The site is being created by Rational Middle Media and is being funded in part

through federal funds from the National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, through the

Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism Office, Office of Cultural Development, Division

of Historic Preservation.

“This is only the beginning of our work to bring focus to two local architects who brought

modernism to the United States,” said Kallenberg. “Our intention is to shine as bright a light as

possible on the Wiener brothers and their impact on the world of architecture.”

To view and to learn more about the film, visit unexpectedmodernism.com.

This press release was produced by the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.