English
Hrvatski
Sergei Loznitsa
SOBYTIE
Netherlands, Belgium, 2015, 74′
THE EVENT
In August 1991 a failed coup d’état attempt (known as Putsch) led by a group of hardcore communists in Moscow, ended the 70-year-long rule of the Soviets. The USSR collapsed soon after, and the tricolour of the sovereign Russian Federation flew over Kremlin. As president Gorbachev was detained by the coup leaders, state-run TV and radio channels, usurped by the putschists, broadcast Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” instead of news bulletins, and crowds of protestors gathered around Moscow’s White House, preparing to defend the stronghold of democratic opposition led by Boris Yeltsin, in the city of Leningrad thousands of confused, scared, excited and desperate people poured into the streets to become a part of the event, which was supposed to change their destiny. A quarter of a century later, Sergei Loznitsa revisits the dramatic moments of August 1991 and casts an eye on the event which was hailed worldwide as the birth of “Russian democracy”. What really happened in Russia in August 1991? What was the driving force behind the crowds on the Palace Square in Leningrad? What exactly are we witnessing: the collapse or the regime or its’ creative re-branding? Who are these people looking at the camera: victors or victims?
Sergei Loznitsa
Ukrainian director/script writer/ producer, was born on 5 September 1964 in Baranovici (USSR). He grew up in Kiev, and in 1987 graduated from the Kiev Polytechnic with a degree in Applied Mathematics. In 1997 Loznitsa graduated from the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. Loznitsa has directed 17 internationally acclaimed documentary films. His two feature films, “MY JOY” (2010) and “IN THE FOG” (2012) had their world premieres at the Festival de Cannes. In 2013 Sergei launched a film production company ATOMS & VOID. Sergei continues to work both in documentary and feature genres. His feature length documentary “MAIDAN”, a film about Ukrainian revolution, was released in 2014.
Karaman Cinema, Wednesday 14/9, 20:45