– The German filmmaker has been shooting her first feature, a dark comedy and coming-of-age story centred on a teenager whose father wants to fake his own death
Rada Rae in A Little Bit of Dying (© Julius Wieler)
After a series of well-received short films, German director Marleen Valien is currently working towards the release of her first feature-length fiction film, A Little Bit of Dying, aka Paradeisa (both still working titles). Shooting took place last spring, and the project is now in the middle of post-production.
Originally from Berlin, Valien first studied at the Berlin University of Arts, attending classes led by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, before pursuing directing studies at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg. Her first short, Hot Dog, which she made in 2019 together with fellow student Alma Buddecke, achieved remarkable national and international success, screening at over 50 festivals, including Sundance. Two more works – A Small Cut and Not the 80s – followed, as did a First Step Award for Best Advertisement in 2022.
A Little Bit of Dying, aka Paradeisa, is a tragicomedy and coming-of-age story centred on a teenager. The plot revolves around 12-year-old Lou and her artist father, Edgar, who comes up with an absurd plan to solve his family’s money problems: he wants to fake his own death.
Valien directed the film and co-wrote the script together with Max Rauer, who also serves as the cinematographer. The two previously collaborated as co-writers on Valien’s short Not the 80s. Rauer’s works have been shown at different festivals internationally. The project is backed by two young but already experienced producers, Julius Wieler and Tristan Schneider. Both studied production at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and have produced some acclaimed short films.
Wieler, for example, presented the short The Swimsuit by Amina Krami in 2024, which won several prizes and was selected as one of Germany’s short-film submission for the 2026 Academy Awards. With Blue Noise by Simon Maria Kubena, he received a Special Mention at the Berlinale in 2022, and with the documentary short Border Conversations by Jonathan Brunner, he won at DOK Leipzig and at DOK.fest Munich, and scooped the Civis Award in 2023.
In front of the camera, the lead role of Lou is played by young Austrian actress Rada Rae. Despite her young age, she has already appeared in several major productions in recent years, such as in the newest instalment of The Hunger Games, Sunrise on the Reaping, as well as in the Amazon series House of David and Nine Perfect Strangers, plus the German thriller Exterritorial, acquired by Netflix. She is joined by Austrian actor Robert Finster, who plays Edgar. Finster is an experienced stage actor and has also appeared in a long list of TV productions and series, including in the recent show Freud, co-produced by Netflix and ORF.
A Little Bit of Dying is being staged by Baden-Baden-based Kurhaus Production in co-production with Anorak from Berlin. The film was made in collaboration with ZDF (Das kleine Fernsehspiel) and the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, and was funded by MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg. The release is planned for summer 2026. A distributor and sales agent have not yet been attached.
In collaboration with
