Mario Burbach
Mario Burbach is a freelance visual storyteller based in Berlin, Germany. He received a grant for a short film called “Would You?” (“Würdest Du?” in German) to visualize our moral dilemma when it comes to individuals we call “farm animals” and who we sent to slaughter at a very young age. He writes:
With the short film project titled “Would You?”, I want to visualize our double standards when it comes to our treatment of other living and breathing beings. Individuals we call “farm animals” and sent to slaughter for having meat on our plates.
Why do we kill another species’ babies or teenagers just for food? Does really that much separate a human child from a pig one sends to slaughter at the age of six months? What if we show the most obvious of human’s unethical consumption of other creatures?
Mario completed his short film titled “Would You?” (“Würdest Du?”) in August of 2020 and submitted it to twenty-five film festivals around the world. COVID-19 forced him to shoot in extraordinary circumstances, with all cast and crew members filming in masks unless in front of the camera. Despite these circumstances, he was able to spend more time on pre-production, reaching out to additional sponsors, and editing. With sponsorships and partnerships with “Wheaty,” “Tofu Town,” and “Vetzgerei,” Mario secured props like vegan meats and the location used for filming – “a vegan butchery.” In 2021, Mario presented his short film at the International Animal Rights Conference in Luxembourg. To find out more about Mario’s work, visit his website here.