PALEONTOLOGY LESSON
The Netherlands | 2025 | 12 min | col.| Ukrainian
Film has the power to create, or expose, spaces untouched by the tragedies of the present. We are in Kyiv, but this time the war remains off screen. A group of schoolchildren are visiting the Natural History Museum. The museum guide delivers his lesson, recounting the story of the origin of life on Earth. His words, the eyes of the boys and girls, their comments and questions enhance a sort of time travel, freezing the crushing present of the war as if in parentheses. In just a few minutes, Sergej Loznitsa uncovers not only an alternate space-time, but also a need of his own. It’s not just about a shelter, or a distraction; it’s about the possibility of fostering an other thinking, an other way of seeing the world, and of admiring its complexity and beauty. It’s about encouraging pupils to develop a fresh gaze to eradicate war. (D.D.)
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: 09 Nov 2025
- Time: 12:45
Location
- Cinema La Compagnia - Via Camillo Cavour, 50/R, 50121 Florence
Organizer
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Sergei Loznitsa
Sergei Loznitsa grew up in Kiev and graduated from the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. Since 1996, he has directed 28 documentaries and four feature films. In 2000, Loznitsa left Russia and moved to Europe. In 2013, he founded his own production company, Atoms & Void. His documentary Maidan (2014) won the Best Documentary Feature Film Award at the 55th Festival dei Popoli, which paid tribute to him on the occasion of its 60th edition.
