In 1969 Žilnik won the Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival for his debut feature-length film Early Works, which was inspired by the student protests in Belgrade held in the summer of 1968. Early Works was co-written by Branko Vučićević and the cinematographer and editor of the film was Karpo Godina. While Early Works was celebrated on the international stage, at home in Yugoslavia it suffered an official attack for its radical form and content. Early Works was tried in court, and Žilnik successfully defended his film from charges that it was harmful to the socialist system. But because of the unwanted attention from being labeled a participant in the controversial Black Wave, and also because of his unrelenting stance, plus the fact that his follow-up film (Freedom or Cartoons) was stopped in the middle of production, Žilnik did not have any access to production companies, so he left Yugoslavia for West Germany hoping that he could continue making films.