‘Breakfast at Berghain’: how Autumn Palen turned Berlin’s most notorious nightclub into a modern fairy tale

Few places in modern culture carry quite the same mystique as Berghain.

The legendary Berlin nightclub has become something larger than a venue. It’s a symbol, a pilgrimage site, a cultural obsession, and for many people who have never stepped inside, an almost mythical destination. For filmmaker Autumn Palen, that mythology became the foundation for her surreal new short film Breakfast at Berghain, which makes its World Premiere at the Dances With Films Festival in Los Angeles this month.

Part comedy, part coming-of-age adventure, and part dreamlike fairy tale, Breakfast at Berghain follows Rosie, a sheltered small-town girl who becomes obsessed with reaching the famed German nightclub. Her quest sends her on an increasingly absurd journey across continents, ultimately leading her into the heart of Berlin nightlife and forcing her to confront questions of identity, belonging, and self-discovery.

The fourteen-minute film may sound outrageous on paper, but beneath the humor lies something deeply personal.

“I made Breakfast at Berghain as an ode to found family, the power of community, and finding yourself by losing yourself,” Palen explains.

That emotional core sits beneath every frame of the film.

A nightclub becomes a fairy tale castle

Interestingly, Palen’s inspiration did not come from firsthand experience inside Berghain itself.

“The first spark for this film came in Berlin on a trip with friends,” she told Film Daily. “I didn’t step foot in Berghain, but my friend described the ins-and-outs of Berghain in such a wild and poetic fashion.”

That description lingered.

Palen became fascinated by the contrast between the intimidating mythology surrounding the club and the perspective of someone living far away from major cultural centers.

“It felt in such stark contrast to the life of a Cinderella figure in the middle of nowhere,” she said.

Rather than making a realistic story about nightlife culture, Palen chose to lean into the fantasy. Berghain became her castle at the end of a fairy tale quest.

“Many people know the tale of Berghain, and it looms as a larger-than-life entity in the big city,” she explained. “I wanted to make a modern fairy tale of sorts, with this bright glowing goal, pulling our hero in like a moth to a flame.”

That approach gives Breakfast at Berghain a unique perspective compared to many films centered around club culture.

The nightclub is not simply a location. It becomes a symbol for every dream that seems impossibly far away.

The universal search for belonging

At the center of the story is Rosie, whose journey resonates with anyone who has ever left home searching for something larger.

The character’s emotional journey draws heavily from experiences Palen knows firsthand.

“There are certainly aspects of Rosie I carry within myself,” she said. “I think I’m still looking for me, to be honest.”

The filmmaker admits she understands the feeling of arriving somewhere completely alone.

“I’ve also been the only person I know in a city, or a country, or a dance floor, and it’s invigorating each and every time.”

That sense of exploration fuels the film’s emotional backbone.

Rosie begins the story trapped by expectations and family dynamics. Her decision to leave home represents the first step toward self-discovery.

“Rosie’s reinvention begins when she makes the decision to no longer be the doormat of her family and takes that step out of her front door into freedom,” Palen explained.

The journey becomes transformative not because she reaches Berlin, but because of who she becomes along the way.

“It’s a wild, scary world out there, but she meets herself through each threshold she passes.”

The idea feels particularly relevant in an era when young people increasingly relocate across countries and continents in search of opportunity, community, and identity.

Why found family matters

One of the strongest themes running through the film is found family.

For Palen, the concept is not merely a storytelling device. It reflects a philosophy that has shaped her own life.

“Finding a sense of belonging in a family outside of family has been crucial for me,” she said.

After moving to major cities alone, friendships became essential support systems.

“It gives an added dimension to life, to be able to share memories, go on adventures, rant about our days, live and grow and move through life together.”

Palen believes those relationships fundamentally shape who people become.

“My life wouldn’t be the same without the friendships I have.”

That perspective helps explain why the film approaches Berghain differently than audiences might expect.

Instead of focusing on exclusivity, celebrity, or nightlife excess, Breakfast at Berghain views the nightclub as a place where outsiders find acceptance.

“In some ways, yes, I wanted to challenge those perceptions,” Palen said when asked about Berghain’s intimidating reputation.

“I wanted to make it past the proverbial velvet rope and view the inside of the concrete cove as a haven.”

For her, the club becomes a metaphor for community.

“A home that can be found in a space full of people all looking for respite through unconventional means.”

Embracing surrealism

One of the film’s most distinctive qualities is its dreamlike visual language.

Rosie’s adventure includes absurd travel methods, exaggerated scenarios, and fantasy-like imagery.

Palen deliberately embraced surrealism as the storytelling framework.

“I felt like framing each step of the journey with this surreal framework was a smooth way to breeze over the potential of people asking overly practical questions,” she said.

The approach frees audiences from realism and allows them to focus on emotional truth instead.

“How’d she? Why’d she? Ah. It’s not supposed to be terribly literal.”

The visual style was heavily influenced by films that celebrate artificiality rather than hiding it.

Palen cites David Byrne’s True Stories as a major inspiration, particularly its use of obvious front projection effects.

She also points to Michel Gondry’s The Science of Sleep for its dream sequences and handcrafted aesthetic.

“I love being able to see the strings, as it were,” she explained.

That philosophy extends throughout Breakfast at Berghain, where viewers are encouraged to embrace imagination rather than question logistics.

Building an entire world in fourteen minutes

One of the film’s greatest challenges was its ambitious scope.

Rosie travels across the globe, encounters multiple cultures, and undergoes significant personal growth, all within a runtime of just fourteen minutes.

According to Palen, compression became the defining challenge.

“The largest challenge came in shrinking the journey and our dwelling within the destination while still making it feel worthwhile.”

The solution involved carefully selecting moments that conveyed emotional progression without slowing the pace.

“I feel fruitful with the condensing, and I hope the audience agrees.”

The result is a short film that feels significantly larger than its runtime suggests.

Wearing every creative hat

Palen served as writer, director, cinematographer, and editor on the project.

While that workload sounds overwhelming, it allowed her to maintain a direct connection between concept and execution.

“I felt taking on each of those roles was a handy way to have a direct pipeline from what I envisioned in my head to what ended up in the final cut.”

Her multidisciplinary approach has become familiar territory through previous short films.

Still, she is quick to credit her collaborators.

“Berghain wouldn’t have come to life without everyone who contributed to it on both sides of the camera.”

Among those collaborators was actress Dominique Booth, who carries the film as Rosie.

According to Palen, the casting decision felt natural.

“Dominique is certainly a member of my found family.”

The pair originally met while working on a student film before reconnecting years later in New York.

“She breathed life into Rosie in such a perfect way.”

The influence of USC and previous work

Palen graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, one of the most respected film programs in the United States.

She believes the school’s collaborative environment directly influenced her approach to filmmaking.

“USC was a great training ground to be able to work with a crew to execute a vision.”

Years spent working on classmates’ productions prepared her for the realities of independent filmmaking.

“Those twelve-hour days are second nature to me.”

Looking across her filmography, recurring themes become clear.

Her previous projects have explored self-love, horror, identity, and emotional isolation.

Palen sees a consistent thread connecting them all.

“The recurring theme of much of my work is a bizarre woman trying to find some sense of belonging or purpose.”

Her response: “Write what you know.”

A perfect midnight movie

The film’s premiere slot at Dances With Films feels particularly fitting.

Breakfast at Berghain will screen during the festival’s midnight programming, a tradition associated with cult cinema and unconventional storytelling.

Palen believes midnight screenings create a unique atmosphere.

“I feel like a midnight screening feels most akin to the feeling of being out there on the dance floor of a nightclub.”

Both experiences involve strangers gathering in darkness to share something unexpected.

“There’s something enjoyably cheeky and sneaky to being out late with a room full of strangers.”

That energy aligns perfectly with a film centered on nightlife, exploration, and community.

Looking ahead

Following the world premiere, Palen already has her eyes on larger projects.

She hopes to make the leap into feature filmmaking in the near future.

“I have a few projects cooking and would love to get a feature off the ground in the not-so-distant future.”

The stories she wants to tell remain consistent with the themes explored in Breakfast at Berghain.

“I love telling stories about open-hearted weirdos on bombastic adventures.”

It’s a description that perfectly captures the spirit of her latest film.

As for what she hopes audiences take away from the experience?

At its heart, the answer remains remarkably simple.

“It’s all about finding the community that makes you feel comfortable enough to be yourself.”

For a film inspired by one of the world’s most famous nightclubs, that message may ultimately prove more universal than any myth surrounding Berghain itself.

Dances With Films program: https://danceswithfilms.com/2026-breakfast-at-berghain/

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXONgm7Jn8U

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36899131/

Dances With Films Festival: https://danceswithfilms.com/

TCL Chinese Theatre: https://www.tclchinesetheatres.com/