// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did "The End of Quiet" say to noise? You're loud and clear.
| The End of Quiet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Den sidste stilhed | |
| Directed by | Kasper Bisgaard Mikael Lypinski |
| Written by | Kasper Bisgaard Mikael Lypinski |
| Produced by | Sara Stockmann |
| Cinematography | Mikael Lypinski |
| Edited by | Charlotte Munch Bengtsen Johan Löfstedt |
| Music by | Uno Helmersson |
Production companies | Sonntag Pictures Picky Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Countries | Denmark Sweden |
| Language | English |
The End of Quiet (Danish: Den sidste stilhed) is a 2025 documentary film directed by Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski. Set in Green Bank, West Virginia, the film follows the lives of residents in the United States National Radio Quiet Zone, where the use of mobile phones and other wireless electronic devices is restricted to protect the nearby Green Bank Telescope from radio interference.[1]
It had its world premiere in the Documentary Competition at the 2025 Tribeca Festival on 7 June 2025.[2][3]
Plot summary
[edit]The documentary follows several residents of Green Bank, West Virginia, including scientists at the Green Bank Observatory, long-time residents, a young family, and people who have relocated to the area because they believe they suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity. Through their daily lives, the film explores how the community is shaped by the restrictions of the National Radio Quiet Zone. Following a three-year interval, it documents the gradual arrival of modern communications technology and its effects on both the residents and the observatory.[4]
Production
[edit]According to co-director Kasper Bisgaard, the idea for The End of Quiet originated after he discovered a photograph of the Green Bank Observatory in a bookstore and invited Mikael Lypinski to collaborate on the project.[5]
The project was initially conceived as a short documentary. Bisgaard and Lypinski travelled to Green Bank, West Virginia in May 2019, where they spent a month filming. After meeting residents and beginning production, they decided that the material warranted a feature-length film.[6]
Bisgaard and Lypinski said they identified many of the documentary's participants by spending time in the community and approaching residents they found interesting.[5][7] The filmmakers spent approximately two months filming in Green Bank across their 2019 and 2022 visits.[6]
Production was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing the filmmakers from returning until 2022. According to Bisgaard, they had initially expected to film only a small number of additional scenes, but changes in the participants' lives during the three-year absence expanded the scope of the documentary.[6]
Lypinski said that the filmmakers found it easier to build relationships with Green Bank residents because the town's slower pace of life and limited use of digital communication resulted in more face-to-face interactions during filming.[5]
The film was produced by Sara Stockmann for Sonntag Pictures.[8]
Release
[edit]The End of Quiet had its world premiere in the Documentary Competition at the 2025 Tribeca Festival on 7 June 2025.[2] It was subsequently selected for the Environmental Film Programme at the 2025 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), where it screened on 13 November 2025.[9]
In 2026, the film screened at the Göteborg Film Festival in the Nordic Competition section,[10][11] the One World Film Festival in Prague as part of its Vision of Today programme,[12] and the DOK.fest München in the Visions of the Future section.[13]
Reception
[edit]Critical reviews
[edit]Sara Clements, writing for Next Best Picture, praised the film's cinematography and soundscape, describing it as "gorgeously shot", but found that some conversations became dull and that certain sequences lacked narrative momentum. She nevertheless concluded that the film "ultimately succeeds in making the invisible visible and the inaudible profound."[14]
Nicki Bruun of Ekko praised the film's imagery and portrayal of Green Bank, but criticized its lack of a unifying perspective and the limited development of its subjects, while noting its examination of whether technological disconnection can alleviate social polarization.[15]
Benjamin Damon of Soundvenue praised the film's cinematography, Uno Helmersson's score and its portrayal of the Green Bank community, while noting that it offers few definitive answers and provides limited detail about the telescope's scientific function.[16]
Reviewing the film for Politiken, Lucia Odoom gave the film four out of six hearts. She wrote that The End of Quiet portrays the residents of Green Bank with warmth and empathy while using the community to reflect on humanity's relationship with technology. Odoom praised the film's poetic imagery and contemplative pacing, arguing that its themes of silence, connection, and what people seek in life make it "a film you think about for days after seeing it."[17]
Accolades
[edit]| Festival/Organisation | Year | Award/Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tribeca Festival | 2025 | Best Documentary Feature | Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography – Documentary Feature | Mikael Lypinski | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing in a Documentary Feature | Charlotte Munch Bengtsen and Johan Löfstedt | Nominated | |||
| Audience Award – Documentary | Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski | Nominated | |||
| Gothenburg Film Festival | 2026 | Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary | Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski | Nominated | |
| Audience Award for Best Nordic Film | Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski | Nominated | |||
| One World Film Festival | 2026 | One World Audience Award | Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski | Nominated | |
| DOK.fest München | 2026 | Audience Award | Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski | Nominated | |
| DOK.edit Award | Charlotte Munch Bengtsen and Johan Löfstedt | Nominated | |||
| VIKTOR DOK.international Award – Best Film | Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski | Nominated | |||
| TV-Prisen | 2026 | Best Documentary | Sara Stockmann, Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski | Nominated | [18] |
References
[edit]- ↑ "BBC News - Talking Movies, The End of Quiet: Film shows the US Community living without Mobile Phones". BBC. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- 1 2 "The End of Quiet | 2025 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ Stephan, Katcy (16 April 2025). "Tribeca Festival's Film Lineup Includes Miley Cyrus' Visual Album Premiere and Films Starring Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney". Variety. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ Davidson, Douglas (7 June 2025). "Documentary "The End of Quiet" uses a microcosm to ask big questions about the cost of modernity. [Tribeca]". Elements of Madness. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Eye For Film: Interview with Mikael Lypinski and Kasper Bisgaard about The End Of Quiet". www.eyeforfilm.co.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "'The End of Quiet' highlights life in the Quiet Zone". Pocahontas Times. 16 July 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ Saito, Stephen (9 June 2025). "Kasper Bisgaard & Mikael Lypinski on "The End of Quiet"". The Moveable Fest. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "Three documentaries with Danish involvement to bow at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "The End of Quiet". poff.ee. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "The End of Quiet". Göteborg Film Festival (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ Balaga, Marta (7 January 2026). "Sweden's Göteborg Festival Lineup Includes Renate Reinsve Film 'Butterfly,' Kristen Stewart's 'Chronology of Water,' Julia Thelin's Buzzy 'The Patron' and More". Variety. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "The End of Quiet · One World Festival". One World Festival. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ THE END OF QUIET (DEN SIDSTE STILHED). Retrieved 31 July 2026 – via www.dokfest-muenchen.de.
- ↑ Clements, Sara (12 June 2025). ""THE END OF QUIET" - Review". Next Best Picture. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "Den sidste stilhed". www.ekkofilm.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ Damon, Benjamin (18 November 2025). "'Den sidste stilhed': Er livet uden internet lykken? Det er spørgsmålet i gudesmuk dansk dokumentar". SOUNDVENUE.COM (in Danish). Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ "Det er en film, man tænker på i dagevis efter at have set de". Politiken - Den levende avis (in Danish). 9 November 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ Tvprisen. "Oversigt - de nominerede TVPRISEN - Tvprisen". tvprisen.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 12 May 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.