For Viktor Kossakovsky it is essential to find the beauty in things and show it through his camera. If in the documentary Aquarela he captured the creative and at the same time destructive power of water and, in his previous work, Gunda, he proposed a heated debate around animal welfare and meat consumption with a story starring a pig that invited veganism, the prestigious Russian filmmaker is now seeking the Berlinale Golden Bear with Architecton.
This is a fascinating German-produced documentary that explores how unsustainable modern construction practices that rely on cement are destroying the planet and suggests that there are lessons to be learned from ancient buildings. “We must stop the catastrophe before it is too late,” he stated in a press conference in which he presented numerous data on the poor durability of cement and its ecological impact, such as that its production accounts for 8% of CO2 emissions. of the world.
Without any narration, only accompanied by music composed by Evgueni Galperine, the work juxtaposes fascinating images of mountains excavated in search of raw materials; vast landfills, bombed and collapsed apartment blocks in Ukraine and earthquake-hit cities in Turkey, with the majestic remains of the 2,000-year-old Baalbeck Roman temple complex in Lebanon, which still baffles archaeologists today as to how was constructed. “People talk about sustainable architecture, but it is not true, because true sustainable architecture is what was done in ancient times,” he points out about a work that is a visual poem and that serves as a meditation on our own existence through A must see on the big screen.
Focusing on a landscape project by Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, Kossakovsky uses the circle to reclaim natural spaces in the centers of cities. “Before, churches were placed in the center, today we place shopping centers and gyms.” And he referred to the fact that a few years ago Potsdamer Platz, the square where the festival headquarters is located, was erected as a symbol of the new city, with projects by the most important architects from around the world. “Now you come here and it’s empty almost any time of the year, except during the festival and at Christmas.”
The filmmaker maintains that in the United Kingdom alone 50,000 buildings were demolished last year and that, according to UN predictions, in 2050 there will be ten billion inhabitants on the planet, so it is urgent to think of sustainable ways to house so many people. “The planet will not withstand it if we continue to erect concrete buildings everywhere.” And he adds: “To produce cement we destroy mountains. Even a small cement factory needs 26 tons of coal per hour and works non-stop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” At the same time, Kossakovsky has also been very critical of the abuse of sugar in our society. “Together with cement they are the two plagues of our time.”
