Valerie

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Drama

A beautiful woman is suddenly forced to rely on her wits on a cold night in December in this character study from Germany. Valerie (Agata Buzek) was a successful fashion model when she was living in Paris in her mid-twenties, but now she's turned thirty and her career is not what it used to be.

With her bank account empty, Valerie can no longer afford the fancy hotel room that had been her home for several months, or even get her car out of their underground parking garage.

The photographer who discovered Valerie and was her lover for years (Birol Unel) has found a new protégé and isn't interested in her anymore, while Valerie's agent (Sabine Vitua) tells her in no uncertain terms her career is probably over.

While she's able to use her looks and charm to persuade Andre (Devid Streisow), a parking attendant, to let her sleep in her car, she finds herself essentially homeless in Berlin with Christmas just around the corner.

Valerie can still turn heads with the right dress and make-up, but with no cash or practical skills, she's forced to turn to others to supply her with food, drinks and cigarettes, and flirts with the idea of prostitution in order to support herself. Valerie was the first directorial effort from cinematographer Birgit Moller.