Architecture Center Houston will host its Third Annual Film Festival. Cycles of boom and bust are certain, and yet whether it's by forces of economy, policy, environment or human selfishness, residents find themselves surprised, off guard and unprepared. Marked by either tidal debris-lines, vacant lots or explosive development, these forces are writ-large on cities, towns and villages.

This year's jury-selected film series will illuminate cautionary, sometimes humorous tales of excess and crisis ranging from palatial extravagance in Miami to the cavernous vacancy in China.

Aug. 15 - Detropia
The woes of Detroit are emblematic of the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing base. Is the Midwestern icon actually a canary in the American coal mine? Detropia is a cinematic tapestry of a city and its people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.

Aug. 16 - Wonderland
From wife-swapping and bingo to flag burning and beauty pageants, Wonderland takes an affectionate look at life in the world's first mass produced and scientifically planned suburb, Levittown. On the occasion of the town's 50th anniversary, John O'Hagan captures the eccentricities borne of residential similitude, in a community whose residents were assigned their homes alphabetically, leading to entire streets of Smiths and Joneses.

Aug. 17 - Queen of Versailles
Directed by lauded filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield, who won the U.S. Directing Award for Documentary Film at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for this film, Queen of Versailles is a character-driven documentary about a billionaire family and its financial challenge in the wake of the economic crisis.