ARTEL

Sergei Loznitsa was born on 5 September, 1964 in the city of Baranovitchi, in Belarus. At the time, Belarus was part of the Soviet Union. Later, Sergei’s family moved to Kiev, Ukraine, where Sergei finished high school. In 1981 Sergei applied and was admitted to the Kiev Polytechnic Institute to study applied mathematics and control systems. In 1987, he graduated with a degree in engineering and mathematics. From 1987 to 1991, Sergei was employed as a scientist at the Institute of Cybernetics. He was involved in the development of expert systems, artificial intelligence, and decision-making processes. In addition to his main job, Sergei worked as a translator from Japanese. During that time, Sergei developed a keen interest in filmmaking, and in 1991 he applied to the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), in Moscow. After a very rigorous selection process, Sergei was admitted to the Institute, where he studied under Nana Dzhordzhadze. In 1997, Sergei graduated with honors with a degree in film production and direction. In 2000 he began producing films at the Studio of Documentary Films in St. Petersburg. In 2000 he was awarded a grant from Berlin’s Nipkov Program. In 2001, Sergei immigrated with his wife and two daughters to Germany. Sergei Loznitsa has made three feature-length documentaries and eight shorts. He is currently directing several documentaries and working on new scripts.