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Lilith Kugler was born in Stuttgart in 1991 and spent parts of her childhood in Burkina Faso and the Philippines. In 2010/2011, she volunteered for a year with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in the Philippines. Upon returning to Germany, she began studying Audiovisual Media at the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences in 2011. In 2013/14, she returned to the Philippines as a guest student at Foundation University, studying Broadcast Communication. Reflecting on that time, Kugler shared in an interview with Testkammer magazine: "I had incredibly dedicated teachers there. We just did things - experimented, filmed, tried things out - without needing to plan everything meticulously or get endless approvals. For me, as a German, it was a freeing and motivating experience." Afterward, she completed several internships in the Philippines.
Following her bachelor's degree from FH-Stuttgart in 2017, Kugler directed her first film in Burkina Faso, where she had spent her early years. Titled "La Maladie du Démon - Die Krankheit der Dämonen" ("The Demon Disease"), the documentary focused on the establishment of a psychiatric center in a country where mental illness is often seen as demon possession, leading to the ostracization of those affected. "There was no real budget," Kugler explained, "I did the camera work, editing, production, directing, and even organized a self-distributed cinema tour with crowdfunding and distribution support." The film went on to win Best Documentary at the 2019 Snowdance Independent Film Festival in Landsberg am Lech.
In 2020, Kugler directed "Selfish", a short documentary exploring the relationship between humans and fish, where a zoologist reflects on ethical issues surrounding science and power. The film was screened at various international festivals and won third place at the Foresight Film Festival in Halle/Saale.
Later that year, Kugler used "Selfish" as her calling card to begin a master's in directing at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her fellow students independently shot "Hausnummer Null" for two years, a documentary about an addicted unhoused man in Berlin. The film premiered at the Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival in early 2024. At DOK.fest München 2024, it won the megaherz Student Award for Best Student Documentary. It also received awards for Best Cinematography and Best Documentary at the Filmkunstfest Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at Achtung Berlin Festival. The film was released in cinemas in September 2024.