Together with Brenda Lien and her film »Call of Cuteness« we’re reframing the image of kitten cuteness: “While we watch the ‘cat fail’ of the day in cheerful safety, all that remains invisible in this neoliberal nightmare catches up with us. The cat’s body is consumed, exploited and controlled.“, she says. 23 films from 19 countries will be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bear as well as the Audi Short Film Award, worth € 20,000, and a nomination for the European Film Awards at the 2017 edition of Berlinale Shorts. Brenda Lien was born in Offenbach am Main, Germany in 1995, she works as an independent filmmaker and film music composer. She has been studying art with a focus on film and animation at the University of Art and Design Offenbach since 2012. In 2017 she is selceted to the Berlinale Shorts competition with her film.
What is your ambition in the film?
Currently I am working on a triology about different kinds of internet videos. The first film Call of Beauty is about beauty-bloggers on YouTube, the second Call of Cuteness about cat videos and the third Call of Comfort (work in progress) will be about relaxation videos. I want to reflect why these videos are so popular, and what their high consumptiont tell us about our cultur and the viewers? Do these videos have any effects on our thinking or behaviour?
How did you get started in the film business?
First I wanted to be a pianist, then a composer, then an artist – and then I realized, that I could combine all of these interests in film somehow. At artschool I started with very experimental films, and I worked on the specific rotoscoping style, you can see in Call of Cuteness. Though I´ve made several animated films, I feel my real passion is telling stories in live action films. Here I like to think a lot about visual story telling and music, and I guess sometimes you´ll still find some experimental elements.
Film extract from »Call of Cuteness«
What are your future plans for 2017?
I will be working on the script to my new (live action) shortfilm, about robots with eczemas and two workaholics trying to exorcise each others demons. Besides that there are several (film) music projects coming up and a theater performance, for which I will make an interactive animation.
Berlinale Shorts 