Good News

Hoping to make his international breakthrough as a journalist, Leo (Ilja Stahl) has left his life in Germany behind. In southern Thailand, he is trying to report on a secret rebel group. When he’s not conducting research, Leo spends time with his friend Mawar (Sabree Matming), who dreams of a better future in Germany. Yet it is precisely the time spent with Mawar and his family that painfully reminds Leo of his own life in Berlin. Leo grows increasingly worried that he will lose touch with his daughter. To leave early, Leo makes a grave mistake: he writes the article without ever having had any real contact with the rebels. But when photographer Julian (Dennis Scheuermann) suddenly shows up to photograph the rebels, Leo is catapulted into a moral downward spiral... The film “Good News” takes a penetrating look at the challenges journalists face when torn between ethical principles and professional success. The story navigates the fine lines between morality and ambition, friendship and betrayal. How far is a person willing to go to achieve their lofty goals? “Good News” is Hannes Schilling’s graduation film following his studies in directing at the Konrad Wolf Film University in Babelsberg. It premiered at the 2024 Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival, where it received the “Award for a Socially Relevant Film.” At the Five Lakes Film Festival, “Good News” was honored with the Perspektive Feature Film Award; at the 2024 Achtung Berlin Festival, it received the Best Director Award, and actor Sabree Matming was awarded the Best Acting Award. “Using simple means, this black-and-white film demonstrates how the search for truth can fail. The images, often shot with a handheld camera, explore the personal coloring of perception and occasionally drift into the dreamlike. The seemingly simple question of facts is thus aesthetically transformed into a far more complicated reality.” (Lexikon des Internationalen Films)