Side/Walk/Shuttle

About This Movie

So, 'Side/Walk/Shuttle' is this fascinating structural documentary that really bends your perception of urban space. Ernie Gehr, the director we don’t hear much about, takes this glass elevator all the way up and down the Fairmont Hotel, and he shifts the camera angle like it’s a living being. It’s almost mesmerizing, watching San Francisco morph before your eyes. The film has this hypnotic pacing, where time feels stretched, and you’re just observing the city in its raw form. The way it plays with gravity—like, you're in this constant state of flux—is really something. It doesn’t have a narrative in the traditional sense, but that’s what makes it distinctive. It’s more like a meditation on the city’s architecture and movement.

Structural film approachFocus on urban movementUnique camera angles