Waking Up in Silence

Im Stillen erwachen

Generation Kplus 2023

Warm rays of sunshine fall upon sturdy buildings: children forced to flee Ukraine now dwell in the barracks of a former German military base. They ride bicycles, weave wreaths on a meadow full of wild flowers and explore the empty rooms and corridors. In their games, they discover military symbols from the past and link them to their own experiences and hopes. On the sidewalk, they scribble in an endless loop: “Putin, stop killing people.”

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by Mila Zhluktenko (Director, Screenplay), Daniel Asadi Faezi (Director, Screenplay) Germany / Ukraine 2023 Ukrainian, Russian, German 18' Colour World premiere | Documentary Form recommendation: 12 years and up

Crew

Directors	Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi
Screenplay	Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi
Cinematography	Tobias Blickle
Editing	Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi
Music	Anton Baibakov, Dewey Martino
Sound Design	Daniel Asadi Faezi, Andrew Mottl
Sound	Kristina Kilian
Dramaturgy	Kristina Kilian
Producers	Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi
Co-Producer	Andrii Kotliar
Co-Production	Babylon’13 Kyiv

World Sales

Square Eyes

Produced by

Daniel Asadi und Lotas Film

Photos

Mila Zhluktenko

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, the filmmaker studied documentary at the Munich University of Television and Film (HFF). Her films have screened at several international festivals including the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the San Sebastián Film Festival, the MoMA Doc Fortnight and Visions du Réel in Nyon. Opera Glasses won the Golden Dove at DOK Leipzig. Rücblickend betrachtet is the third work she has co-directed with Daniel Asadi Faezi.

Filmography (short films)

2017 I Love My #Hairlegs · Find Fix Finish; documentary, co-director: Sylvain Cruiziat 2019 Opera Glasses; documentary 2022 Aralkum; co-director: Daniel Asadi Faezi 2023 Waking Up in Silence; documentary, co-director: Daniel Asadi Faezi 2025 Rückblickend betrachtet (In Retrospect); documentary, co-director: Daniel Asadi Faezi

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025

Daniel Asadi Faezi

The director and producer studied documentary filmmaking at HFF Munich and at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan. He is a Berlinale Talents alumnus and his films have screened at numerous festivals including Locarno, DOK Leipzig and Ann Arbor in Michigan, USA. With Mila Zhluktenko, he has already co-directed Aralkum, which won Best Short Film at Visions du Réel, and Waking Up in Silence, which won the Special Prize of the International Jury for Best Short Film in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlinale.

Filmography

2017 In Search Of; short film 2018 The Absence of Apricots; documentary 2019 Where We Used to Swim; short documentary 2021 Langsam vergesse ich Eure Gesichter (Slowly Forgetting Your Faces); documentary 2022 Aralkum; short documentary, co-director: Mila Zhluktenko 2023 Waking Up in Silence; short documentary, co-director: Mila Zhluktenko 2025 Rückblickend betrachtet (In Retrospect); short documentary, co-director: Mila Zhluktenko