Uta Briesewitz on 'American Sweatshop': The Brutal Things Burn Into the Retina

Director Uta Briesewitz discusses her film 'American Sweatshop', a thriller about a content moderator who must watch and delete violent internet videos for eight hours a day, leading to trauma and a decision to act. The film focuses on the psychological impact on moderators, using sound design and subtle imagery rather than explicit violence. Briesewitz clarifies she left HBO's 'The Wire' due to producer Robert Colesberry's death, not because it was too dark. She emphasizes that AI cannot replace human moderators because it lacks the capacity to suffer. The film's climax shows the protagonist breaking the fourth wall, leaving the ending open. Briesewitz used her own phone videos and her daughter's Halloween makeup to create fake violent content, ensuring no real violence was depicted. The interview was conducted by Jürgen Wittner for kulturnews.