Several cities around the world were redesigned at the beginning of the last century to host the automobile revolution. Many streets were reinvented to make room for motor vehicles, and the space for pedestrians in public space was rethought. As cars took over the city, the Lumière brothers experimented with the first film cameras and left us the first documentary on cycling races, depicting the Lyon – Geneva race of 1896.
The arrival of motor vehicles meant the reduction of distances, allowed the relocation of industries to the urban periphery and once again reorganized the urban map. Distances increased considerably and workers, attracted by better opportunities, populated popular neighborhoods outside the urban center. Public transport grew at this time in response to the need to move workers; however, the bicycle continued to be the queen of mobility, especially between wars. Losing a bicycle was a great drama, as we can see in Vittorio de Sica’s premiere, “Ladri di biciclette” (1948).
The periphery, the banlieue, the suburbs… are today often heirs of a manufacturing urban past, full of illusions and dreams of innovation. They are home to many migratory processes and the birthplace of new forms of urban culture. However, they are often poorly connected to the urban centre, making them separate islands from the city. Islands full of young creators who see audiovisuals as an excellent way to communicate, a medium for self-expression, and a great opportunity to overcome physical boundaries. The bicycle shortens distances and makes us physically experience the city with each pedal stroke. It is a tool to recover the city, think about the urban, and redesign the territory.
If the motor vehicle redesigned the 20th-century city, the bicycle redesigns the 21st-century city. Many cities have started to include or extend their network of bike paths, offer subsidies for the purchase of personal or cargo bikes, and more and more groups of amateur cyclists are emerging, thus creating more communities of interest. The bicycle plays an important role in active mobility, being an environmentally friendly means of transport and a way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Still, as Barden would portray in 1955, relationships on the road aren’t always happy.
Cinema has portrayed these problems and many others related to mobility; stands out as an almost universal way of initiating dialogue about the urban, the territory, mobility and the way we live the city.
We invite the presentation of films that reflect on the following themes, or others in which the bicycle plays an important role in urban life in society:
– Shared bicycle practices
– Discover the city by bike
– The bicycle as a tool for working and experiencing the city
– Cycling communities
– Youth, territory and freedom on wheels
– Social justice, bicycles and the right to the city
– Environment and bicycles
– Daily bike commuting and community identities
– Minorities and bicycle
– Periphery and cycling
– Bike & sports
