Miriam Dehne

ON THE REALITIES BEHIND THE GLITTER CURTAIN.

MIRIAM DEHNE is interested in what lies beneath the sparkling surface: beauty and abysses, bodies, desire and social constructs. These themes run through her work as a writer and director and are closely linked to her visual style

“I do like it when things just look incredibly aesthetic”. For Dehne, beauty is a way of approaching the complexity of her stories. Dehne studied design at Berlin’s UdK and initially worked as a costume designer, but realised that wasn’t enough. She switched to journalism, wrote for fashion magazines and eventually found her way into film.

Her first project, the poetic documentary Babsi – Ein Name für viele Gesichter, emerged from a world she knew first hand: while at university, she had worked as a telephone operator in a brothel. This was followed by documentaries, hybrid formats and feature films. Much of this is now culminating in Selling Sex.

The series, about a young woman who works as an escort, explores sex work through self-determination, economic independence and social stigmatisation: “We’re all about self-determination and putting an end to the stigmatisation of this job.” At the same time, she is developing Her Last Take, about women like Carmen Dell’Orefice, a model and actress who became a ‘bestager’ icon. Dehne remains on the lookout for characters who defy expectations and define their own lives.