in retrospect

a film by &

Germany | 15' | 02/2025 | documentary

Immigrant workers built a shopping mall for the Munich Olympics 1972.
In 2016 this same place becomes the site of a racist shooting.
„And now this hate.“, concludes a woman in a Sohrab Shahid Saless’ film „Addressee Unknown“ (1983).

“a politically urgent short film that interweaves past and present as a striking cinematic statement against forgetting”
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“a politically urgent short film that interweaves past and present as a striking cinematic statement against forgetting”
Square Eyes - Screenshot 2025-11-21 at 12.10.58
Square Eyes - VdR25_Lauriers_Official_B
Square Eyes - flc_ndnf25_laurels_official_selection_blk

Mila Zhluktenko

Biography

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Studied in the Documentary Department at the University of Television and Film, Munich. Her films have been screened at numerous film festivals including IDFA, Visions du Réel, Camerimage and MoMA. OPERA GLASSES won the Golden Dove at DOKLeipzig. ARALKUM was awarded Best Shortfilm at Visions du Réel and qualified for the Academy Awards.

Filmography

• waking up in silence – 2023 – 17min. – documentary
• Aralkum – 2022 – 14min. – experimental
• Opera Glasses – 2019 – 23min. – documentary
• Find Fix Finish – 2017 – 20min. – documentary
• I Love My #Hairlegs – 2017 – 2min. – experimental

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Daniel Asadi Faezi

Biography

Born in Schweinfurt, Germany. Studied in the Documentary Department at the University of Television and Film, Munich and National College of Arts Lahore, Pakistan. Besides directing he produces documentary and experimental cinema. His films screened at numerous film festivals including Locarno, DOK Leipzig, Visions du Réel and Ann Arbor. He is a Berlinale Talents alumni.

Filmography

• waking up in silence – 2023 – 17min. – documentary
• Aralkum – 2022 – 14min. – Experimental
• Slowly Forgetting Your Faces – 2021 – 80min. – documentary
• Where We Used To Swim – 2019 – 8 Min. – documentary
• The Absence Of Apricots – 2018 – 49min. – Hybrid
• In Search Of – 2017 – 6min. – Fiction
• Observation Of Hawks In The Sky – 2016 – 1min. – Experimental
• Kids Of Tehran – 2016 – 27min. – documentary
• Arefi, The Shepherd – 2013 – 8min. – documentary

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Crew

Director: Mila Zhluktenko & Daniel Asadi Faezi
Producer: Mila Zhluktenko & Daniel Asadi Faezi
Screenplay: Mila Zhluktenko & Daniel Asadi Faezi
Image: Tobias Blickle
Sound Design: Andrew Mottl
Re-recording mixer: Andrew Mottl
Sound recording: Kristina Kilian
Editor: Mila Zhluktenko & Daniel Asadi Faezi
Music: Hora Lunga
Dramaturgy: Kristina Kilian

Festivals

40+ selections, 2 awards

Select highlights:

German Short Film Prize – Documentary under 30 minutes

  • Berlinale, Germany (13 – 23 February, 2025)
    Berlinale Shorts
  • Visions du Réel, Switzerlands (4 – 13 April, 2025)
    International Medium Length & Short Film Competition
  • New Directors/New Films, United States (2 – 13 April, 2025)
    Official Selection
  • Vienna Shorts, Austria (27 May – 1 June, 2025)
    International Competition Fiction & Documentary
  • Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg, Germany (3 – 8 June, 2025)
    National Competition
  • Dokufest – Int’l Documentary and Short Film Festival, Kosovo (1 – 9 August, 2025)
    Short Dox Competition
  • Zinebi – International Documentary and SFF of Bilbao, Spain (21 – 28 November, 2025)
    International Short Competition 

Password




Press materials

EPK: Click here

Stills & directors’ photos: Click here

Dialogue lists – English & German: Click here

Downloadable trailer: Vimeo & Youtube

Jury statements

“In Retrospect by Mila Zhluktenko and Daniel Asadi Faezi is a politically urgent short film that interweaves past and present as a striking cinematic statement against forgetting. Through multiple exposures and archival footage, it reveals the persistent structures of racism in Germany. The film shows how places are shaped by history and how violence repeats itself. ”
Special mention – Archivio Aperto ’25