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Sound of Falling

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Sound of Falling
German poster
GermanIn die Sonne schauen
Directed byMascha Schilinski
Written by
  • Mascha Schilinski
  • Louise Peter
Produced by
  • Lucas Schmidt
  • Lasse Scharpen
  • Maren Schmitt
Starring
CinematographyFabian Gamper
Edited byEvelyn Rack [de]
Music by
Production
companies
  • Studio Zentral
  • ZDF
Distributed byNeue Visionen [de]
Release dates
  • 14 May 2025 (2025-05-14) (Cannes)
  • 11 September 2025 (2025-09-11) (Germany)
Running time
149 minutes
CountryGermany
LanguageGerman

Sound of Falling (German: In die Sonne schauen, lit. 'Looking at the sun') is a 2025 German drama film co-written and directed by Mascha Schilinski. It follows four generations of girls connected by a farm in the Altmark. The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2025, where it won the Jury Prize, and will be theatrically released in Germany by Neue Visionen [de] on 11 September 2025.

Premise

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The film follows four girls—Alma, Erika, Angelika, and Lenka—from different historical periods whose lives are subtly interconnected. Each spends their youth on the same four-sided farmstead in the Altmark region. As they move through their respective presents, traces of the past gradually emerge.[1]

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Writer-director Mascha Schilinski

Co-writers Mascha Schilinski and Louise Peter were inspired to write the film after spending a summer on a farm in the Altmark.[2][3] After seeing a photo of three women from 1920, Schilinski and Peter began imagining what the women's lives were like.[4][5]

As we went through the rooms of the farmhouse, we could sense the centuries. It brought up a question I've had since childhood. What happened between these walls in the past? Who has sat right in the spot where I'm now sitting? What fates played out here? What did the people who lived here experience and feel?

— Mascha Schilinski[6]

The screenplay was developed over three years under the working title The Doctor Says I'll Be Alright, But I'm Feelin' Blue.[3][4] In 2023, it won the Thomas Strittmatter Screenplay Award [de] by the MFG Filmförderung [de].[7][8]

Casting

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Over 1,400 girls auditioned for the four main characters. Schilinski stated that the production team searched for girls whose faces could represent the time period of each character. The casting process took place over the course of a year, and the cast comprises both experienced actors and newcomers.[4]

Filming

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Principal photography began in August 2023.[9] The film was shot over 34 days in Neulingen and Vehlgast [de], both in Saxony-Anhalt.[7][10] For a visual reference, the production team took inspiration from the works of American photography photographer Francesca Woodman.[3] Filming was completed on 2 September 2023.[11]

Release

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Writer-director Mascha Schilinski and the cast of the film at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival

The film was screened in the Work in Progress section of Les Arcs Film Festival in December 2023.[12][13] mk2 Films acquired the international sales rights to the film in April 2025.[14] A promotional clip and full trailer were released on 13 May 2025.[15][16] The film had its world premiere in competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2025.[17][18] It was the first film by a German female filmmaker to compete in the main competition of the festival since Maren Ade's Toni Erdmann in 2016.[6] Following its Cannes premiere, Mubi acquired the distribution rights for the film in North America, the UK, Ireland, Turkey, and India.[19] The film will receive a theatrical release in Germany on 11 September 2025.[20]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10.[21] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 91 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[22]

Guy Lodge of Variety called the film "exquisite" and "astonishingly poised and ambitious". He praised writer-director Mascha Schilinski and co-writer Louise Peter for constructing an intricate story of womanhood through the lens of the four main characters, noting that "no finer point of craft, performance or poetic nuance [was] rushed or neglected". He also commended Schilinski's direction and Fabian Gamper's cinematography.[23] Damon Wise of Deadline praised the film, calling it "superb" and "a masterclass in ethereal, unnerving brilliance". He concluded that, "Cinema is too small a word for what this sprawling yet intimate epic achieves in its ethereal, unnerving brilliance; forget Cannes, forget the Competition, forget the whole year, even—Sound of Falling is an all-timer."[24] David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a grade of A− and wrote, "So tenderly in touch with the shared but unspoken traumas that are visited upon her cast of young women, Schilinski mines tremendous sorrow from the secret poetics of girlhood; she weaponizes cinema's ability to access the deepest interiors of human feeling, and swirls her characters together in a way that tortures them for their subjectivity."[25]

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter commended the film's unique method of storytelling and wrote, "Sound of Falling is arthouse filmmaking with a capital A that will best appeal to patient audiences. They will be rewarded by a work that reminds us how the cinema can still reinvent itself, as long as there are directors like [Mascha] Schilinski audacious enough to try."[26] Alison Willmore of Vulture called the film an "astonishing work, twining together the lives of four generations of families with an intricacy and intimacy that feels like an act of psychic transmission",[27] while Wendy Ide of Screen Daily called it a "work of thrilling ambition" that "announces Schilinski as a talent of considerable note".[28] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film four out of five stars, noting that it was "dense with fear and sadness".[29]

Emma Kiely of Collider, however, gave the film a score of 5 out of 10 and called it "a pretentious romanticization of the hardship women go through rather than an in-depth analysis of how systems and families can sit back and allow such trauma and suffering to claim women's lives". She criticized the underdevelopment of the characters and wrote that "the film is excessively grim to the point that it feels exploitative." Despite this, she commended Schilinski's direction, Gamper's cinematography, and the film's sound design.[30]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2025 Palme d'Or Mascha Schilinski Nominated [31]
Jury Prize Won

References

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  1. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (22 December 2023). "REPORT: Industry Village @ Les Arcs 2023". Cineuropa. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  2. ^ Balaga, Marta (14 May 2025). "'Sound of Falling' Director Mascha Schilinski Calls for No Limitations". Variety. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Tutt, Louise (14 May 2025). ""It was a magic shower": Mascha Schilinski on making her Cannes Competition debut 'Sound Of Falling'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Wise, Damon (14 May 2025). "Cannes One To Watch: German Filmmaker Mascha Schilinski Talks Buzz Movie 'Sound Of Falling', Which Was Snapped Up Early By Cannes & MK2 As A Bold New Voice". Deadline. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  5. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (15 May 2025). "'Sound Of Falling' Filmmaker Mascha Schilinski On Origins Of Her Generational-Trauma Epic – Cannes". Deadline. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  6. ^ a b Dege, Stefan (14 May 2025). "A German in the Cannes competition: Mascha Schilinski". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  7. ^ a b Popp, Olivia (15 April 2025). "Mascha Schilinski's Sound of Falling to vie for Cannes' top prize". Cineuropa. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  8. ^ Rodek, Hanns-Georg (16 May 2025). "Cannes-Favoritin Mascha Schilinski: "Wenn das die Hölle ist, dann nehme ich sie"". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  9. ^ Ziems, Christian (25 August 2023). "Geheimnis gelüftet: Warum Schauspieler und Filmcrew auf altem Altmark-Bauernhof drehen". Volksstimme (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  10. ^ Ziems, Christian (12 April 2025). "Mascha Schilinski mit Film "Sound of Falling" in Cannes: Was ein Dorf bei Arendsee damit zu tun hat". Volksstimme (in German). Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  11. ^ Prisor, Lucas [@lucasprisor] (2 September 2023). "Heute fällt in Neulingen in der Altmark die letzte Klappe für das vier Generationen umspannende Familiendrama "The Doctor says I'll be alright but I'm feelin' blue" (AT) von Mascha Schilinski" (in German). Retrieved 11 April 2025 – via Instagram.
  12. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (7 December 2023). "Les Arcs Unveils 2023 Works-In-Progress Selection". Deadline. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  13. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (7 December 2023). "The Les Arcs Work in Progress programme selects 13 titles". Cineuropa. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  14. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (10 April 2025). "Buzzy Cannes Competition Film 'Sound Of Falling' Boarded By Mk2 Films; Movie "Signals An Exceptional New Voice"". Deadline. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  15. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (13 May 2025). "'Sound of Falling' First Look: Mascha Schilinski's Cannes Premiere Is an Ode to the Generational Ghosts of Girlhood — Watch". IndieWire. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  16. ^ Kilb, Andreas (13 May 2025). "Deutscher Wettbewerbsbeitrag beim Filmfestival Cannes". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  17. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (14 May 2025). "Cannes 2025 Is Only A Day Old But Already Has Its First Raved About Movie…Let The Bidding Wars Begin For Mascha Schilinski's 'Sound Of Falling'". Deadline. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  18. ^ Feinberg, Scott (14 May 2025). "Cannes: Competition Film 'Sound of Falling' Gets Rave Reviews, Tepid Ovation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  19. ^ Keslassy, Elsa; Vivarelli, Nick; Barraclough, Leo (22 May 2025). "Mubi Buys Mascha Schilinski's Cannes Competition Film 'Sound of Falling' for North America, U.K., Ireland, Turkey and India". Variety. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  20. ^ Stosch, Stefan (9 May 2025). ""So viel Glück muss man erst mal verkraften"". RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  21. ^ "Sound of Falling". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Sound of Falling". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  23. ^ Lodge, Guy (14 May 2025). "'Sound of Falling' Review: Shattering, Century-Spanning Tapestry of Female Unrest Shoots Mascha Schilinski Into the Big Leagues". Variety. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  24. ^ Wise, Damon (14 May 2025). "'Sound Of Falling' Review: Mascha Schilinsky's Superb Feature Is A Masterclass In Ethereal, Unnerving Brilliance – Cannes Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  25. ^ Ehrlich, David (14 May 2025). "'Sound of Falling' Review: Four Generations of German Girls Suffer the Same Growing Pains in Masha Schilinski's Mesmerizing Stunner". IndieWire. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  26. ^ Mintzer, Jordan (14 May 2025). "'Sound of Falling' Review: A Haunting Meditation on Womanhood and Rural Strife That Heralds the Arrival of a Bold New Talent". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  27. ^ Willmore, Alison (14 May 2025). "We May Have Already Seen the Best Film at Cannes This Year". Vulture. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  28. ^ Ide, Wendy (14 May 2025). "'Sound Of Falling' review: Trauma seeps through a century of women's lives in rural Germany". Screen Daily. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  29. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (14 May 2025). "Sound of Falling review – intergenerational angst haunts a German farmhouse". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  30. ^ Kiely, Emma (14 May 2025). "'Sound of Falling' Review: This Cannes Opener Is One of the Most Grim Films About the Female Experience I've Ever Seen". Collider. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  31. ^ Roxborough, Scott (24 May 2025). "Jafar Panahi Wins Cannes Palme d'Or for 'It Was Just an Accident'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
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