Chicago Film Festival: The Experimental City

The Experimental City

The Experimental City documents the fascinating story behind a failed domed metropolis that was to be located in Minnesota.

Chad Freidrichs, who directs the documentary, does a fantastic job in bringing history–even if forgotten to many–to life.

The city was the brainchild of scientist and University of Minnesota dean Athelstan Spilhaus.  In watching, I was reminded of Walt Disney’s vision for Epcot as being a city of tomorrow.  Just as the Florida project never came to fruition, the same goes for the Minnesota Experimental City.  There’s no doubting that these people were ahead of their time in the 1960s.  While it may have seemed like a great idea in paper, they faced resisistance from the Minnesota citizens in addition to environmentalists.

Long before Stephen King could have ever imagined it, this failed city was to be the original city located under the dome.  It is theoretically possible that it could have been a success if it wasn’t being planned as a nude colony.

Screening in the Documentary competition and architecture categories at the Chicago International Film Festival, The Experimental City will screen on Wednesday, October 18, at 8 PM.  An encore screening will take place on Thursday, October 19, at 12:45 PM.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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