For years after university, Dasha Altukhova assumed film belonged to other people. Then came a degree in Management, a job at a PR agency, and an evening at a colleague’s flat where most of the guests were self-taught filmmakers doing paid work and making real films. Within a year, she had shot her first short documentary, about an elderly star of a local public pool.
That film became part of a larger visual essay about Moscow, which she exhibited shortly before emigrating in 2022. Four years later, Altukhova lives in Berlin, holds a master’s in Documentary Filmmaking and works full time as a visual artist, making films with communities about deeply personal subjects.
We asked her about the city behind that work: the neighbourhood she rarely leaves, the cafés worth returning to, and why newcomers should stop searching for one must-see spot.
From birthday videos to a first documentary
How did you get into filmmaking, and what keeps you doing it?
As cheesy as it sounds, I’ve always wanted to do it. I’ve been making things for as long as I can remember: birthday videos, films about trips shot on my parents’ camera, little sketches. It took me a while to believe I could be part of this world and to let it become my life.
I had just finished a BA in Management, moved back home and started looking for a job, but nothing felt right. Eventually I started working at a PR agency, and one day a colleague invited me over. Her partner and most of their friends were self-taught filmmakers making real films and doing real jobs. It completely broke my idea that the film world was out of reach. As I got closer to that group, I started to believe I could follow my passion too.
That year I made my first real short documentary, a crazy project about an elderly superstar of a public pool. It became part of a bigger visual essay about Moscow, which I exhibited right before I emigrated in 2022. I’ve now lived in Berlin for four years. I did a master’s in Documentary Filmmaking here, and today I work full time as a visual artist.
In my practice, I mainly work with communities and with people on very personal themes. Telling their stories carries so much meaning that it keeps me motivated. Being able to connect with so many different people, and to document and archive their experiences, feels like a gift.
A city where every kind of work finds an audience
What does Berlin give you as a filmmaker that other places didn’t?
Berlin is a fantastic place to start a career because there are endless artists here. It’s barely a joke that everyone you meet is either an artist or works in IT. Seeing so much diversity and creativity is inspiring, and you can always go to an exhibition, a film festival or an event. There’s something for every taste in this city, which also means that whatever you make will find its audience.
Life inside the kiez
What’s your favourite neighbourhood in Berlin?
Neukölln! There’s a Berlin meme that nobody ever leaves their “kiez”, the local word for neighbourhood, and over time I became the same. Neukölln has so many great places: cafés, bars, independent galleries, cinemas. I live right by Körnerpark, a small park that feels like a peaceful Parisian enclave in the middle of the chaos. It’s beautiful.
Where’s the best place to meet like-minded people?
Art festivals. There’s some kind of art event every weekend, and it’s surprising how easy it is to talk to people and make new friends.
What’s your go-to spot for coffee or a drink?
For coffee, Leuchtstoff or That Pink Café. For a drink, RingBar on Tuesdays for Taco Tuesday, or Mausi.
The cost of a city in constant motion
What surprised you most when you moved to Berlin?
How transient it is. I think the other side of being so active and diverse is a never-ending flow of people. Sometimes it feels like as soon as you make a friend, they move away. For many people, Berlin is a place with an expiry date. That’s partly why it has a reputation as a lonely city, where finding love is almost impossible.
Let the city choose for you
What’s one place in Berlin every newcomer should visit?
I don’t think there is one. The right place for you will find you by chance if you wander the streets and go to as many unexpected events and places as you can.
Ask a local is Marketer.uk’s series on cities as the people who make things there experience them. Each edition hands the guidebook over to a local creative, whether a filmmaker, designer, musician or artist, who knows which neighbourhoods are worth the detour and where the city’s creative communities actually gather. Next time, we head to another city with another local. If you know a creative whose city deserves a closer look, tell us at Marketer.uk.
