Louis I. Kahn, just like the buildings he created, is an architectural icon. The Estonian-born American architect, based in Philadelphia, founded his own atelier in 1935. Among his famous, and often monumental and monolithic, buildings are Bangladesh’s Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban, or National Assembly Building, the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California.
Now, the final three years of his life and work get the big-screen treatment in Joy Will Prevail, directed by Max Korman, the grandson of Steve Korman, who, as the biographical drama shows, commissioned a house from the celebrated architect outside Philadelphia. The Korman House became the final residential building designed by Kahn. It was completed shortly before his unexpected death in 1974, and it became the director’s childhood home.
Max Korman’s feature debut tells the story of the creation of Kahn’s final residential commission and his unlikely friendship with Steve Korman, painting a portrait of the architect and his legacy. The film also touches on how Kahn quietly navigated a complex personal life as the father of children with three different women.
After its recent world premiere at the Philadelphia Film Festival, Joy Will Prevail, appropriately, gets its international premiere in Estonia, at the 30th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Griffin Dunne (The French Dispatch, After Hours, An American Werewolf in London) stars as Louis I. Kahn, with Jennifer Beals (The L Word, NCIS: New York, Flashdance) and Alexis Bledel (The Handmaid’s Tale, Gilmore Girls) adding further star power. Ben Rosenfield portrays Steve Korman, with Molly Ephraim also part of the ensemble cast. Joshua Echevarria was the cinematographer, with editing handled by Sarah Flack.
J. Andrew Greenblatt, Max Korman, Derek Dienner and Alex Peace-Power are the producers on Joy Will Prevail, with co-producers Anthony Faure, Christopher Rivera and Grace Wagner.
Kahn, born in Kuressaare on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, and the story of his final years return to the country where his life began this weekend. After the Saturday PÖFF premiere in the presence of Dunne and director Korman, the film team will visit Kuressaare for a special Sunday screening of Joy Will Prevail. Their visit to Estonia is organized in cooperation with the Louis Kahn Estonia Foundation.
THR can now exclusively premiere a trailer for the film. It provides a first appetizer for the biographical and cinematic journey that is Joy Will Prevail. Watch the teaser with Dunne, Beals, Bledel and more right here.