Pacific Vein

An endless tracking shot through a picturesque panorama of the American West. Among fake classical buildings, there is Julian Assange as a soda salesman pondering the digitalisation of our world. Around him, hippies, artists and homeless people struggle to express themselves, their messages captured by surveillance cameras. Fictional scenes merge with documentary footage. The empire is busy (with fitness and self-optimisation) and nervous (with the military and weapons) as the American Dream slides into a ghostly auto-suggestion. Where, actually, is the enemy and who has the image rights? A big glug of revitalising energy drink might help to make heavy thoughts seem light.
by Ulu Braun
with Niina Lehtonen Braun, Lily Cummings, Joachim Stargard, David Ristau, Valentin Lorenz
Germany 2024 English 12’ World premiere | Animation

With

  • Niina Lehtonen Braun (Mudplayer)
  • Lily Cummings (Yacht Woman)
  • Joachim Stargard (Balancer)
  • David Ristau (Smoker)
  • Valentin Lorenz (Builder)

Crew

Director Ulu Braun
Screenplay Ulu Braun
Cinematography Ulu Braun
Editing Gernot Wieland
Music Vali Kram
Sound Design Ulu Braun, Jordi Latorre, Tamara Peetre
Sound Mixing Jochen Jezussek
Costumes Niina Lehtonen Braun
Animation Ulu Braun
Producer Ulu Braun

Ulu Braun

Born in Schongau, Germany in 1976, the filmmaker lives and works in Berlin and Finland. Between 1996 and 2005, he studied film and painting in Vienna, Helsinki and Potsdam. His video collages and films are poised on the border between visual arts and auteur cinema and have been presented in museums, galleries and at film festivals. He has won numerous awards, including the 2013 German Short Film Award. His films have featured a number of times in Berlinale Shorts, most recently Glittering Barbieblood in 2021.

Filmography (short films)

2004 Die Flutung von Viktoria; short film 2007 Rhabarber Boy; short film 2009 Westcoast; short film 2010 Atlantic Garden; short film 2011 Maria Theresia und ihre 16 Kinder (Maria Theresia and Her 16 Children); short film, co-director: R. Rauschmeier · The Park; short film 2012 Tower of Invincibility; short film 2013 Vertikale; short film · FORST; short film 2014 BIRDS; short film 2015 Plantheon; short film, co-director: T. Haarla · Architektura; short film 2017 Die Herberge (The Hostel); short film 2018 Burkina Brandenburg Komplex; short film 2021 Das Glitzern im Barbieblut (Glittering Barbieblood); short film · St. Mickeyland; short film 2022 Saturne 2024 Pacific Vein; short film

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2024