Set in a forest along the Serbian-Hungarian border, the film follows a group of Afghan smugglers who help migrants cross into Hungary and the European Union. Shot entirely in darkness, it captures their lives as they wait through long, sleepless nights for migrants attempting the dangerous journey. The smugglers are themselves former migrants who once travelled the same route and faced similar risks. Rather than telling the stories of those trying to cross the border, the film focuses on these men, their uncertain existence and their constant state of waiting in the shadows of a heavily guarded border.
Federico Cammarata and Filippo Foscarini met at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Palermo, graduating in documentary filmmaking. Their first collaboration, Late August, gained international recognition. Waking Hours is their first feature documentary, selected for the 40th International Critics’ Week.
