Hannes Schilling was born in 1989 in Erfurt, Germany. From 2009 to 2015, he studied Audiovisual Media at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. In 2014, he completed a semester abroad at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. During his time at Beuth, Schilling produced several films, including his sixty-minute documentary thesis "Meine Großeltern, die Gegenwart und ich" (2015).
In 2015, he began directing studies at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg "Konrad Wolf" in Potsdam. There, he continued to create films such as the 15-minute short "Nach dem Fest" (2017), which was nominated for the German Short Film Award. His 30-minute bachelor’s thesis film "Der Proband" (2018), about an unemployed man who reluctantly participates as a test subject in medical trials, won the German Short Film Award and was honored as Best Mid-Length Film at the Achtung Berlin Festival. His short documentary "Waldstück" (2019), which explores a secret Nazi research laboratory near Berlin, screened internationally and received the Best Documentary (Mid-Length/Short) award at Achtung Berlin.
During his directing studies, Schilling took part in an exchange program at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2019. Confronted with challenging production and living conditions there, he developed the idea for his thesis film. In 2023, he filmed "Good News" in Thailand - where he had previously been a guest student - a story about a journalist whose career ambitions during a report on a Thai rebel group put local friends and colleagues at risk. The film premiered at the Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival 2024, where it won the award for a socially relevant film. At the Fünf Seen Filmfestival, "Good News" received the Perspektive Spielfilmpreis, and at Achtung Berlin 2024, it earned awards for Best Direction and Best Acting (Sabree Matming). The film's theatrical release took place in May 2025.