Series Site
January 30–February 8, 2025
We welcome Berlin-based filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa for a ten-day residency, during which time he will speak about his work in documentary, feature filmmaking, and short form. Since his last visit to BAMPFA in February 2017, Loznitsa has made ten feature-length films and one short. His voice as an independent filmmaker is widely respected by international film curators and critics; he is praised for his incisive work and noted for his decision to speak for positions that may challenge mainstream thought. Born in 1964 in Belarus and raised in Ukraine, Loznitsa has been making films since 1996 and is considered one of the most insightful commentators on a range of political and socioeconomic issues related to Ukraine, Russia, and the former Soviet bloc countries.
We present several films for which Loznitsa mined archival footage to examine and reanimate historical events, such as Babi Yar. Context about the genocide of 33,771 Jews in Kyiv in September 1941; The Natural History of Destruction, inspired by W. G. Sebald’s essay and presenting previously unseen images from World War II bombardments; and State Funeral, culled from the historical documentation of the news of Joseph Stalin’s death. Loznitsa adopts an observational style for some of his nonfiction works. For his most recent film, The Invasion, he worked with film crews stationed around Ukraine, resulting in a multifaceted portrait of Ukrainian life since the Russian invasion in 2022. The short film Factory is exemplary of his use of original camerawork. With the feature films In the Fog, Donbass, and A Gentle Creature, Loznitsa demonstrates his skill as a writer/director, interested in form as well as stories, never shying away from the hardships individuals experience.
—Susan Oxtoby, Director of Film and Senior Film Curator