ADA - My Mother THE Architect
UK Release | April-mAY 2026
Upcoming Uk Screenings:
JW3
341-351 Finchley Rd, London, NW3 6ET
Wednesday, April 29th at 7:30 PM - Followed by a Q&A with director Yael Melamede
Additional Screenings: May 3-7
CINÉ LUMIÈRE
Institut Français - 7 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2DT
Thursday, May 1st at 6:15 PM - Followed by a Q&A with director Yael Melamede and Moderated by Philippa Kowarsky
Additional Screenings: May 2, 4, 7, and 10
ABOUT THE FILM
ADA – MY MOTHER THE ARCHITECT is an intimate portrait of pioneering architect Ada Karmi-Melamede, directed by her daughter, filmmaker, and former architect, Yael Melamede. Ada trained at the Architectural Association in London as did her brother Ram Karmi, and then went on to work and live in the United States where she taught at Columbia University for nearly fifteen years. Over the course of a remarkable career, Ada has designed some of Israel’s most significant public buildings, including the Supreme Court in Jerusalem and the Open University—projects that embody a belief in architecture as a civic and democratic act. The film explores the impossible tensions between professional ambition and private life, and the ongoing challenge of holding onto ideals in a country increasingly drifting away from them.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“A spectacular film on so many levels; the storytelling, the cinematography, the editing. Ada and her stories are tremendous, and director Yael Melamede’s ability to tell a story about Israel with love and criticism is as remarkable. This is a giant of a film.” -MSNBC’s Ali Velshi
“There is a micro-tradition of the children of famous architects turning the lens on their parental history…but a daughter documenting her mother? Unheard of.” -Dante A. Ciampaglia, Architectural Record
“The film articulated principles for a common civic language, an intoxicating possibility of a world where both difference and shared humanity thrive.” -Nora Berman, The Forward