Buildings, People, Stories. Architectural Films by Stephenson&

Jim Stephenson Architectural Photography and Films

Short description

Stephenson& is a film production studio that specialises in documenting architecture; the buildings, the people that design them, make them and use them, and the spaces in between the buildings.

Stephenson& is run by architectural photographer Jim Stephenson. It was important that we used a different name for the film production side of our work to highlight the collaborative nature of making films. The ’&’ in ‘Stephenson&’ recognises all the people we work with on the films we make; from extra camera people, editors, sound designers and support crew we have an incredibly diverse team of collaborators. Indeed, Stephenson& is a vehicle to foster the collaborative nature of our work. The many creative relationships evidenced in the studio, nurtured over numerous projects in the last fifteen years have influenced the development of our own practices and so the creation of Stephenson& was a natural next step.

We aim to produce films which situate themselves between the architect and the audience in order to communicate complex ideas in a compelling way. The result is a reflective and poetic mode of storytelling, infused with a calm and multi-sensory atmosphere engaging viewers on many different levels. We specialise in showing buildings being used - the human interaction with buildings is especially important to us, and as such we take on a more documentary style approach to our work.

Alongside the architectural films we make, we also run a series of mentorship programmes with younger film makers from underrepresented backgrounds. We provide support and advice as well as equipment loans, financial assistance and even finding new commissions for the people we work with.

Our films have been featured extensively in media outlets online, garnering hundreds of thousands of views and have been featured at films festivals globally. They have covered work by architects from all over the world, including Zaha Hadid, Frances Kéré, Kengo Kuma, Richard Rogers, Peter Zumthor, Sarah Wigglesworth and many more. In 2023 the RIBA commissioned a major exhibition of our film work at their gallery in London.