Apocalypse now

In our world, where technology promises immortality, the theme of the apocalypse has become paradoxically popular. But if we look at it through history and realization in different cultures, we can see the humanity’s relentless desire to inter- pret and reflect on it in a wide variety of forms: starting from blockbusters to scientific reports, from religious texts to reels on social media.

Eschatology, the doctrine of the inevitable end of the world and human beings, is older than any religion. From the Norse Rag- nar?k to the Book of Revelation by John the Apostle, humanity repeatedly rehearses the final scenario: judgment, retribution, purification.

But there is another truth: eschatology has always been a story of hope. The Last Judgment in

Christianity is not only about punishment, but also about the triumph of justice.

In this year film program we will live through medieval “apoca- lypses” with the help of the lens of the Chinese wuxia (martial arts chivalry) novel “Broken Spear” and an adaptation of a masterpiece by the great Indian literary classic Rabindranath Tagore (“The Sacrifice”). We will think over the fate of humanity against the background of the consequences of nuclear di- sasters in the Khakas film “Coral Beads”, and go deep into the psychology of a personal “end of the world” in the Russian film “Seconds to Zero” and in a Bangladeshi essay tracing the recent political upheaval “In Between Living”.

“The end of the world” has long become a part of mass cul- ture. But what lies beneath this obsession? Myths about the collapse of civilization teach us to appreciate the present. Per- haps the apocalypse is not a prophecy, but a mirror: when we look into it, we see not the end of the world but the fear of los- ing ourselves. And as long as this fear is alive, so is the belief that the end can still be rewritten.

Nina Kochelyaeva