Skin of Glass

An introduction to the harsh social inequality of Brazil begins when filmmaker Denise Zmekhol finds her father’s masterpiece in a state of disrepair and inhabited by hundreds of homeless people. The 1960’ high-rise office building Wilton Paes de Almeida in Sao Paulo was architect Roger Zmekhol’s crowning modernist project. But the reinforced concrete structure, elegantly wrapped in glass, has been complemented over the years by decaying graffiti along its entire height and length. By getting to know the building better, the director gradually comes to terms with her father’s passing and the decline of his work.