Joy Will Prevail, the feature debut of director Max Korman, tells the story of architect Louis I. Kahn’s final three years and the creation of his last residential commission: the Korman House outside Philadelphia, which became Korman’s childhood home. Korman is the grandson of Steve Korman, who commissioned the house from Kahn. It was completed shortly before the architect’s unexpected death in 1974.
The biographical drama also follows the unlikely friendship between Kahn and Steve Korman, while portraying the architect’s legacy and his complicated personal life. Griffin Dunne stars as Kahn, with Ben Rosenfield playing Steve Korman. Jennifer Beals, Alexis Bledel and Molly Ephraim are also in the cast.
After its world premiere at the Philadelphia Film Festival, the film will have its international premiere at the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia on Saturday, Nov. 7. Kahn was born in Kuressaare, on the Estonian island of Saaremaa. Dunne and Korman are expected to attend the Tallinn screening, followed by a special screening in Kuressaare on Sunday.
Kahn, an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia, founded his own atelier in 1935. His celebrated works include Bangladesh’s National Assembly Building, the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter.