On Thursday the 8th of June we were joined by Sergei Loznitsa for a post-screening Q&A.
Pushkin House presents the UK premiere of The Natural History of Destruction, a poignant archival film on the aerial bombing and destruction of European cities in World War II that raises complex moral questions.
This event is part of the comprehensive programme WITNESSING HISTORY: FILMS BY SERGEI LOZNITSA, dedicated to the multifaceted oeuvre of this Ukrainian director.
The film is inspired by W.G. Sebald’s book of the same title about the shelling of German cities by British and American aircraft. The assemblage of various WWII archival material, primarily footage of urban bombing campaigns, puts forward the questions: is it morally acceptable to use the civilian population as a means of war? Is it possible to justify mass destruction for the sake of higher “moral” ideals?
These questions remain as relevant today as they were 80 years ago, and their urgency is tragically manifested in current political events.
On Thursday the 8th of June we were joined by Sergei Loznitsa for a post-screening Q&A.