Transmutation is a meditative visual essay on the ongoing transformation of matter and landscape along the industrial corridor of Northwestern Europe. The film explores a territory shaped by a long-standing legacy of heavy industry within a 200 km radius of Brussels, spanning regions of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Germany. It depicts places where materials are extracted, processed, reused, or discarded.

Traversing sites of salvage and reuse activities alongside others dedicated to extraction and manufacturing practices, the film highlights the complex entanglement between circular and linear economies. Transmutation reflects on the scale and presence of industrial activity, the impact of material flows on the landscape, and the often unexpected afterlives of infrastructure shaped by cycles of industrialisation and decline.

Transmutation was produced on the occasion of the exhibition Rotor. Entangled Matter, presented at Bozar - Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels and organised by A+ Architecture (Oct 2024 - Jan 2025)

REVIEWS
“Transmutation is a masterfully composed series of short films that illuminate the silent complexity of the construction world with rare poetic precision and visual elegance.” - Foundations Quarterly
“Bêka et Lemoine livrent un voyage visuel saisissant et d’une grande richesse intellectuelle à travers les entrailles matérielles de l’architecture. Transmutation est à la fois urgent et magnifiquement filmé.” - Matière & Territoires
“Met een scherpe blik en een zeldzame gevoeligheid onthult Transmutation de verborgen sporen van ons bouwen, een pakkend en noodzakelijk filmproject.” - Tussen Steen en Licht
“Few films are as aesthetically captivating and politically resonant as Transmutation. A bold, meditative act of cinematic ecology.” - Review
“Dans ces neuf courts-métrages, Bêka et Lemoine interrogent avec subtilité et puissance l’impact invisible de nos environnements bâtis. Transmutation est une œuvre essentielle.” - Perspectives
“A brilliant and intimate glimpse into the unseen world of architecture.” The Guardian

A film by Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine
Miracoli, France/Belgium, 2025
80 min

SCREENINGS
‘Rotor. Entangled Matter’, an exhibition presented by A+ Architecture and Bozar at Bozar - Centre for
Fine Arts, Brussels, 2025 | Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi, Venice, 2025 | University of Applied Arts Vien-
na, Wien, 2025 | AFFR Rotterdam, 2025 | CAFx, Copenhagen, 2025 | Malmö Architecture Days, 2025 |
CAMP Prague, 2025, XXIII Bienal de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de Chile, Santiago de Chile, 2025 |