The Natural History of Destruction

synopsis

In this documentary film inspired by Winfried Georg Sebald’s book of essays of the same name, Sergei Loznitsa addresses whether it’s ethical to use civilians as targets for achieving one’s warfare aims and whether their use as a means of mass destruction can at all be morally justified. The montage of archival footage depicts German cities being bombed out by Allied air raids during World War II and offers a horrific testimony to the destruction and its cataclysmic consequences that have in many circles remained a taboo topic.

“If we look at my current film, it looks at a principle that has become acceptable, almost standard, since the Second World War. Targeting the civilian population is now practically a rule of war strategy. At the moment, this principle is on display in Ukraine, but before, the same thing was happening in Syria, and the world seemed to just look on disinterested. I think this idea, this principle, of mass destruction needs to be analyzed and reflected upon, not just by the politicians, but by philosophers, by anthropologists, by sociologists, by all those who study human society.” — Sergei Loznitsa

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Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ukrainian-director-sergei-loznitsa-history-destruction-cannes-2022-1235151641/

biography

Award-winning Ukrainian director and mathematician Sergei Loznitsa (* 1964) graduated from the National Technical University in Kyiv and the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. He has directed a number of live-action, feature films and formally stylized documentaries that often reflect on the turning points in European history.

more about film

director:	Sergei Loznitsa
producer:	Regina Bouchehri, Gunnar Dedio, Maria Choustova, Sergei Loznitsa, Uljana Kim
script:	Sergei Loznitsa
editing:	Danielus Kokanauskis
sound design:	Vladimir Golovnitski
skladatel:	Christiaan Verbeek

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