A journey into the world of chairs through conversations with design icons about aesthetics and functionality.

A chair may appear in life as a point of concentrated meaning. In a philosophical sense, it can be used to explain categories of being, form, utility, essence and beauty. Through the director’s personal reflections, working with designers and recording interviews, a common ideal emerges: to design their own chair.

The film explores a chair as more than an object, seeing its potential to hold bodies, place and tell stories, weaving in time, society and language. Even if a chair does not ‘work’ in the conventional sense, a chair ceases to be a piece of furniture and becomes a reason–for conversation, double and how we structure our existence. Two Chairs is not about chairs as furniture; it is a philosophical journey, a series of dialogues with those who engage with beauty and functionality every day.

The chair has often appeared in my life as a point of concentrated meaning. Back in university, in philosophy lectures, it was used to explain categories of being, form, utility, essence, and beauty. Later, while working with designers and recording interviews, I often heard the same phrase: “One day, I want to design my own chair.” That’s how the idea for this film emerged—organically, almost unconsciously. A chair is not just an object. It supports the body, holds it in place, and tells stories — about time, society, and language. It brings together function and meaning, idea and matter, utility and expression. It can be comfortable or awkward, modest or provocative — but it always speaks. During filming, I was interested not only in listening but in observing. How a craftsman touches wood. How a philosopher talks about objects as if they’re alive. How a designer defends a form, even if it “doesn’t work” in the conventional sense. We visited galleries, workshops, archives — spaces where the chair ceased to be a piece of furniture and became a reason: for conversation, for doubt, for exploring how we structure our own existence. This film isn’t about chairs as furniture. Two Chairs is a philosophical journey—a series of dialogues with those who engage with beauty and functionality every single day.

Sponsored by the Professional Interior Designers Institute of Manitoba.