Sergei Loznitsa was born on September 5th 1964. He grew up in Kiev (Ukraine), and in 1987 graduated from the Kiev Polytechnic with a degree in Applied Mathematics. In 1987-1991 Sergei worked as a scientist at the Kiev Institute of Cybernetics, specializing in artificial intelligence research. In 1997 Loznitsa graduated from the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow, where he studied feature filmmaking. Sergei Loznitsa has been making films since 1996, and by now he has directed 25 award-winning documentaries and 4 fiction films. Loznitsa’s feature debut “MY JOY” (2010) premiered in the main competition at the Festival de Cannes, and was followed by the feature film “IN THE FOG” (2012), which was awarded FIPRESCI prize at the 65th Festival de Cannes. In 2017, Sergei Loznitsa presented his third feature “A GENTLE CREATURE” in the competition of the Festival de Cannes. In 2018, Loznitsa received the prize for Best Directing of the Un Certain Regard section of Festival de Cannes for his fourth feature film, “DONBASS”. In 2013, Sergei Loznitsa founded a film production company: ATOMS & VOID. Sergei Loznitsa’s feature-length documenatry “MAIDAN” (2014), the chronicles of the Ukrainian revolution, had its world premiere at a Séance Special of Festival de Cannes. His subsequent feature length documentaries, “THE EVENT” (2015), “AUSTERLITZ” (2016), “THE TRIAL” (2018) and “STATE FUNERAL” (2019) were presented at the Special Screenings of the Venice Film Festival. In 2021 Sergei received a Special Jury Prize of the L’Oeil D’Or Award in Cannes for his film “BABI YAR. CONTEXT”. Sergei Loznitsa continues to work on both documentary and fiction projects. PROGRESS Film released its Cannes acclaimed documentary "THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DESTRUCTION" in German arthouse cinemas on 16 March 2023.