The first edition of the festival was held in 2000, in preparation for Rotterdam to be the European Capital of Culture.

[1] The festival includes recently made as well as classic feature films with outstanding set design, such as The Fountainhead, Mon Oncle, Silent Running and Blade Runner, while more generally considering the way cities and other built environments are depicted in cinema.

The festival also provides a stage for experimental films that approach and use space in unconventional ways.

[citation needed] An important part of the programme is dedicated to films about the use of space, films that address contested spaces, the social position and responsibility of architecture and planning, and specific themes such as the influence of media on the city.

Besides films, there are usually tours, workshops, presentations, and forum discussions with architects, critics and experts from various disciplines.