The National Film School of Denmark Animation Graduates: Kauli Green and En Jeg Ser

Casual is a sensual short about negotiations of intimacy and monogamy in casual relationships.
Our two protagonists share the sweet thrill of peeking into a stranger's intimate life, but are confronted with the question; Which is more vulnerable to talk about, sexual desires or romantic dreams?

Kauli Green's short film "En Jeg Ser"/"Casual" premiered at Annecy in 2025, and has gone on to appear at the Copenhagen Short Film Festival, Odense International Film Festival, Queer Film Festival Berlin, and more. Green is a multi-media filmmaker who works in animation, documentary, and other formats.

"En Jeg Ser/Casual" is a film about the sometimes difficult questions and conversations that arise around intimacy. The sketchy line quality, shifting camera, and expressive color palette of the visuals emphasizes the vulnerability and uncertainty of the characters as they navigate these experiences. Green describes the film as a sensual short about negotiations of intimacy and monogamy in casual relationships. They say: "Our two protagonists share the sweet thrill of peeking into a stranger's intimate life, but are confronted with the question: which is more vulnerable to talk about, sexual desires or romantic dreams? The film centers trans bodies and experiences, honouring queer lives and loves. With a combination of cel animation, carefully guided AI and rotoscope, the experimental form of the film is itself a queer statement of evolving and transitioning."

Talking about their inspiration for the film, Green goes on to say:

With "Casual", I wanted to make a film about casual queer dating, and of course intimacy: emotional as well as physical. It was important for me and the crew that the queerness itself wouldn't be part of the conflict in the film, but rather the natural starting point for a story about negotiations of casual dating, and which armor we each bring into that intimate space. "Intimacy, not romance" became a catchphrase that guided all creative decisions; from working with the amazing film crew, actors and intimate coordinator, and onto the animation process; exploring contrasts between hand drawn cell-animation and the abstractions offered by carefully guided AI. I dream of directing feature films and longer format shows, both live action and animation. I recently finished my first live action documentary, "Elsker det for dig", which inspired me a lot. Next time I hope to be merging the lived experience of live action documentary with the magic of animation, and explore new techniques.

With such an auspicious premiere on the Danish film scene, we will certainly be seeing more of Green's work in the years to come.

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