Born in 1964, Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa grew up in Kiev, and graduated from Kiev Polytechnic in 1987 with a degree in Applied Mathematics. In 1997, Loznitsa graduated from the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow, where he studied feature filmmaking. Sergei Loznitsa has directed 18 documentary films since 1996 and has received numerous international awards, including festival prizes in Karlovy Vary, Leipzig, Oberhausen, Krakow, Paris, Madrid, Toronto, Jerusalem and St. Petersburg, as well as the Russian National Film awards “Nika” and “Laurel”. Loznitsa’s feature debut My Joy (2010) premiered in competition at the Festival de Cannes, and was followed by In the Fog, which also premiered in competition at the Festival de Cannes in May 2012, where it was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize. His feature film A Gentle Creature premiered in competition at the Festival de Cannes in May 2017.