The latest from master documentarian Victor Kossakovsky (Gunda, Aquarela), Architecton is 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.

Through Kossakovsky’s lens, the grandeur and folly of humanity and its precarious relationship with nature posits two urgent questions: how do we build, and how can we build better, before it’s too late?

He captures astonishing images, from the ancient temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following a seismic earthquake, to reflect on the rise and fall of civilisations. A ravishingly cinematic project born of environmental urgency, the film asks us to consider how a better relationship with nature might allow humanity to survive.

• Architecton on Tue 28 Jan is part of our Cinébites deal: get 30% off any main dish in the Café & Bar with a valid ticket.

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