The Match Factory has acquired the international rights to the Russian director Victor Kossakovsky‘s documentary “Architecton,” which world premieres in the competition section of the Berlinale. A24 financed the film and will distribute it in North America.
“Architecton” follows Kossakovsky’s highly acclaimed “Gunda,” which played in Berlinale Encounters in 2020, and “Aquarela,” which screened in Venice’s out of competition section in 2018.
“Architecton” is described as “an epic, intimate and poetic meditation on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction — and offer hope for survival and a way forward.”
The film centers on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele de Lucci, which Kossakovsky uses to reflect on the rise and fall of civilizations. He captures breathtaking imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to 60 AD, to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in early 2023.
“Rocks and stone connect the disparate societies, from ghostly monoliths stuck in the earth to tragic heaps of concrete rubble waiting to be hauled off and repurposed anew,” the description continues. “Through Kossakovsky’s inquisitive lens, the grandeur and folly of humanity and its precarious relationship with nature posits the urgent question: How do we build, and how can we build better, before it’s too late?”
Michael Weber, managing director of The Match Factory, said in a statement: “Victor Kossakosvsky possesses the remarkable ability to amplify seldom-heard voices on the screen. Demonstrating his mastery in previous works like ‘Gunda’ and ‘Aquarela,’ he now skilfully integrates architecture, geography, environment and anthropology into a singular cinematic experience with ‘Architecton,’ presenting an extraordinary visual narrative.”
“Architecton” is produced by Heino Deckert for Ma.ja.de. in Germany. Neue Visionen is releasing the film in German theaters. This is the first collaboration between Kossakovsky and The Match Factory.
Other films in The Match Factory’s lineup at Berlinale include “Dying” by Matthias Glasner in Berlinale competition and “Scorched Earth” by Thomas Arslan in Panorama.
