Anastasia Veber
Writer / Director
Germany
Anastasia Veber is a Berlin-based director and writer. Her graduation short film, Trap, won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlinale and has been featured in numerous international film festivals. Participant at Cannes Residency, Torino ScriptLab and Less is more program. She holds a degree in directing from the Saint Petersburg School of New Cinema and a screenwriting degree from the Saint Petersburg University of Cinema and Television. Anastasia’s work delves into themes of youth discrimination, religious discourse, and she blends cinematic storytelling with performance art. In addition to her directing career she works as a script consultant and leads workshops on the cinematic exploration of reality.
Project
Daydreaming about the end of the world
Giulia suffers under her father, a veteran of the war. He barricades the house, leaving bruises on her hands and teaching her how to survive an upcoming apocalypse. Scared and angry, Giulia experiences episodes of derealization; it feels as if time is slowing down before an approaching hurricane. After her father violently forbids her from watching the coming storm, Giulia escapes on her motorcycle. In a deserted place, she encounters a small, harmless tornado and rides through it, feeling exhilarated. A group of tornado chasers witnesses this and calls her “baptized by the storm.” Skeptical but curious, Giulia joins them and plunges into the chasers’ routine, driven by adrenaline, drugs, and superstitions. Her intuition for tornadoes evolves through her derealization episodes, growing stronger with each kilometer farther from her father. Finally, an experienced chaser predicts a great storm that will end the world – just as Giulia receives the news that her father is fatally ill.
