About the director

The filmmaker began his career in 1978 at the Leningrad Studio of Documentaries as a camera assistant, assistant director and editor. In 1988, he graduated with a degree in screenwriting and directing from the Moscow Film School. His feature debut The Belovs won both the VPRO Joris Ivens Award and the Audience Award at the IDFA in 1993. Since then, his films have received numerous prizes. His previous film, Gunda, premiered in the Encounters section at the 2020 Berlinale and was nominated for the European Film Award. (Berlinale)

Press reviews

"In his philosophical documentary called Architecton, Russian filmmaker Victor Kossakosvky gives architecture a kind of superpower that can help save humanity. In a poetic way, the documentarian transforms his film into a kind of rock opera in which rocks and stones come to life." (Arte)

The director about the film

"I initially conceived this film as a comedy about modern architecture. But when the corona pandemic broke out, I realized I had to be serious. I shot a completely empty New York: not a single person, not a single car, not a single advertisement. A completely apocalyptic image of an unimaginable future. And then this war started - and I realized that I couldn't use the comedy episode or the footage from New York.

The ruins prove more than written documents: Because Russia could say it was not responsible for destruction. This used to be an ordinary neighborhood, ordinary houses where people slept. Now these ruined houses clearly show which side the missiles came from. That's why I started filming ruins." (DW)