Presented on February 5, 2025
The UC Berkeley Department of German and BAMPFA were pleased to host Sergei Loznitsa’s Mosse Lecture. The Berlin-based filmmaker has directed more than thirty films that examine history, politics, and cultural identity from a European perspective. His illustrated presentation addresses his aesthetic approach to documentation and artistic practice as a filmmaker who frequently works with archival imagery to create essay films and is also a writer/director of feature films. Included as part of this presentation is a screening of his visually striking early short film Factory (2004).
Berlin-based filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa joined the Department of German and BAMPFA for a ten-day residency, during which time he spoke about his work in documentary, feature filmmaking, and short form. 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.
BAMPFA presented 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.