SOLD OUT Evenings with DADo: Taming the Garden

Join DADo at Walsh Street for a screening of Taming The Garden. Prior to the screening, we will be joined by Prof Hélène Frichot who will be providing a short introduction to contextualise the film.

Title: Taming The Garden (2021) by Salomé Jashi
Run Time: 92 mins
Language: German, Georgian ad Mingrelian language (Eng Subs)

Some time ago, the entire country of Georgia witnessed a surreal scene – a large tree floating in the sea. That was when we learned that the most powerful man in the country had a new passion – to own century-old trees on his private estate.

An ode to the rivalry between men and nature, Taming the Garden is the story of how a powerful man indulges in an unusual hobby. He buys century-old trees, some as tall as 15-story buildings, from communities along the Georgian coast and has them excavated to collect for his private garden. In order to transplant trees of such dimensions, the landscape surrounding them is ripped apart and the people living around them are forced to adapt to the disruption. As the film follows this process, it portrays the needs and values of today’s Georgian society and reflects on the theme of forced migration, where “uprooting” is more than a metaphor.

The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.   

Prof Hélène Frichot
Architectural theorist and philosopher, writer and critic, Hélène Frichot is Professor of Architecture and Philosophy and former Director, Bachelor of Design, at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne, Australia. In her former position she was Professor of Critical Studies and Gender Theory and Director of Critical Studies in Architecture in the School of Architecture, KTH (Royal Institute of Technology) Stockholm, Sweden, where she was based between 2012-2019. Drawing on the two disciplines in which she is trained, architecture and philosophy, her research fosters creative practice methodologies and develops concept-tools and theories that draw on care ethics, feminist new materialism, the posthumanities, environmental humanities, and affect theory. She experiments with ficto-critical and transversal writing methodologies and environmental storytelling approaches, currently with a focus on the Plantationocene.

This event is generously supported by Konpira Maru Wines,  Yumbo Soda Co and Shelter. When you subscribe via – shelter.stream/rbf – the Robin Boyd Foundation will receive 10% of the revenue.

Doors will open at 6.30 pm to allow attendees to explore Walsh Street and enjoy refreshments in the courtyard. The talk and screening will commence promptly at 7 pm.  

Before your visit, please note:
– Attendees must be 16 years and over.
– No external food or drink is permitted.
– Large bags and backpacks will need to be checked in at entry.
– Stiletto or pointed heels are not permitted due to our cork flooring.
– Tickets are refundable up to 72 hours prior to the event.
– Tickets may be exchanged as long as the purchaser advises us of the new attendee’s name via email. 

We offer discounted tickets to RBF Friends and Boyd Circle members – support the Foundation and join today.

Thandi Lane, Andrew MacKinnon, Sushma Prabhu, Tom Hibbert and Jasper Caverly present DADo’s 2025 program. 

Evenings with DADo offer an intimate commingling of film and dialogues centred around diverse historical and contemporary stories of architecture, design, landscape and urbanism. Feature-length films, documentaries, shorts and animations all find a home in Robin Boyd’s living room at Walsh Street. Guest speakers contribute unique perspectives on the various film subjects, kicking off the conversation in a home that decidedly sought to reject convention.

Image: stills from Taming The Garden 2021.