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Den' Pobedy

Victory Day
Forum 2018
© Imperativ Film
The Soviet Memorial in Treptower Park is among the most impressive of the monuments commemorating the Second World War in Berlin. Each year on May 9th, the day of the Red Army’s victory over the Nazis, the memorial becomes the setting for a vast gathering.
This film documents the proceedings from early morning, when a small group of visitors enter with their dogs, pulling a little wagon carrying a portrait of Stalin, to the evening, after the last patriotic songs have been sung, the selfies with flags sent, the vodka drunk and the speeches have faded away. The camera is always in the thick of the action, both inspired and propelled by an atmosphere that is a mixture of pride and reflection, patriotism and a desire for recognition, shame and typical Berlin curiosity. The spectator becomes aware of just how choreographed each of the actions here are, whether performed by young or old, women in traditional costumes or men in uniform: on this date the memorial reveals its power as a cinematographic magnet, revealing how, even 72 years after the end of the war, an infinite number of lifelines intersect and are defined from exactly this spot, stretching out over Berlin and far beyond.
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by Sergei Loznitsa Germany 2018 Russian, German, English 94’ Colour World premiere | Documentary form

Crew

Written and Directed by Sergei Loznitsa
Cinematography Sergei Loznitsa, Diego Garcia, Jesse Mazuch
Editing Danielius Kokanauskis
Sound Design Vladimir Golovnitski
Sound Vladimir Golovnitski
Producers Sergei Loznitsa Imperativ Film, Andrey Mikhailov Taura Ltd.

World Sales

Imperativ Film

Produced by

Imperativ Film

Taura Ltd.

Photos

Sergei Loznitsa

© Imperativ Film

Born in 1964 in what was then the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, now the Republic of Belarus. He grew up in Kiev, and graduated with a degree in Applied Mathematics. In 1997 Loznitsa graduated from the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. He has directed eighteen documentary films and three feature films since 1996.

Filmography

1996 Segodnya mi postroim dom (Today We Are Going To Build A House); 28 min. 1998 Zhizn, osen (Life, Autumn); 34 min. 2000 Polustanok (The Train Stop); 25 min. 2001 Poselenie (Settlement); 80 min. · Portret (Portrait); 28 min. 2003 Landschaft (Landscape); 60 min. 2004 Fabrika (Factory); 30 min. 2005 Blokada (Blockade); 52 min. 2006 Artel; 30 min. · 
Predstavlenie (Revue); 83 min. 2008 Severniy svet (Northern Light); 52 min. 2010 Schastye moe (My Joy); 127 min. 2012 V tumane (In the Fog); 128 min. · Tchudo sviatogo Antonia (O Milagre de Santo António); 40 min. 2013 Pismo (Letter); 20 min. · Reflections, Bridges of Sarajevo; 17 min. 2014 Maidan; 133 min. · Staroe evreiskoe kladbische (The Old Jewish Cemetery); 20 min. 2015 Sobytie (The Event); 74 min. 2016 Austerlitz; 94 min. 2017 Krotkaya (A Gentle Creature); 143 min. 2018 Den’ Pobedy

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018