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FUTURE FRAMES 2022

Brenda Lien • Réalisatrice de First Work, Then Play

"Je ne suis pas sûre que les gens comprendront jamais vraiment qu’être artiste, ce n’est pas toujours qu’une partie de plaisir"

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- À l’approche de la projection de son film dans le cadre du programme Future Frames de l’EFP, la réalisatrice allemande nous parle de burnout créatif et de la culture moderne

Brenda Lien • Réalisatrice de First Work, Then Play

Cet article est disponible en anglais.

An alumna of the Berlin Talent Campus, Brenda Lien is both a filmmaker and a music producer. Her 2017 film Call of Cuteness was screened at Berlinale Shorts while her film Call of Comfort won a German Short Film Award. A graduate of the University of Art and Design Offenbach, Lien’s latest film is First Work, Then Play, which is due to screen as part of European Film Promotion’s Future Frames at the 56th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (1-9 July).

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The film follows Maxi, who, after winning a prestigious music award, finds herself crumbling under the pressure to release an album. As self-doubt begins to erode her creativity, she gets onto a downward spiral heading towards burnout. First Work, Then Play is an eye-popping and constantly inventive affair, utilising the aesthetics of the YouTube, TikTok and Instagram generation.

Cineuropa: How similar is the creative struggle with music that you show in the film with that of filmmaking?
Brenda Lien:
Making electronic music has a much faster pace of production and usually doesn't involve as many people and resources as filmmaking. But what both have in common is that critical stage of finding the idea, the sound, the story, and of course one of the hardest parts: actually finishing the project. The film's protagonist is in a creative block and she's also a perfectionist – perfect ingredients for procrastination.

What was the impetus behind making the film?
Talking about being depressed, burned out or saying “I'm a workaholic” (almost with pride) is present in so many of our everyday conversations. I think this “productivity talk” is an essential part of the hustle culture we live in, as we constantly remind ourselves and each other to work harder or that we're not doing enough. It feeds off of the myth that we live in a meritocracy where everyone can achieve anything.

In First Work, Then Play I wanted to focus on what it's like to be a freelance artist and how these struggles multiply, if you face multiple types of discrimination. I think the biggest hustler on our set was Anthonette Olaleye – who played Maxi, the protagonist – she's not only an amazing actress, but also a mother of four super talented kids who each have acting and modelling careers. One of them, Annelle Olaleye, played the star of the film: Maxi's inner child and demonic drill sergeant. She's a genius! I'm so fascinated by how professional she was on set at the young age of seven. Lona Culmer-Schellbach played Sora, the glittery inner cop, who definitely had the best costume! As an opera singer she completely nailed the over-the-top campy vibe I was looking for in this role.

One of the key ideas of the film is how having a job as a creative should somehow be a reward in itself. Do you ever see this attitude changing?
I'm not sure people will ever fully understand that being an artist isn't all fun and games. A hard truth I began to realise starting out as a freelance artist is, you have to spend a huge amount of time doing bureaucratic work or getting funding, promoting your stuff and at some point, you struggle making time for “pure” creative work.

What I do see changing is, that this mindset of “do what you love and you'll never work a day” (which people think artists have achieved) is projected to all sorts of jobs and it is expected from random factory or office workers to smile and have "fun" at work, while they're literally just there to make ends meet.

Was there a certain amount of catharsis in making the film?
Well... I had a burnout while writing the script and was extremely depressed in post. I'm trying hard not to try as hard anymore. I don't like this cliché of the artist that completely sacrifices everything and would die for their work. I've been living with that mindset for too long and it's not something I'm interested in anymore. But at the same time, I grew up in hustle culture and it's ingrained in my brain to measure my worth in productivity and achievement. I'd say it's a process that a lot of my friends and colleagues and I are going through, each in our own ways, and we're helping each other see things differently.

Do you have any projects that you’re working on next?
I'm currently writing the script to my first feature film, Zero Drag (WT), and working on an album.

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