VALERIE

Shortly before Christmas, the model Valerie rents a room at the Grand Hyatt in Berlin. She is broke. Bookings have all but dried up, her credit card is overdrawn and blocked, she has given up her flat in Paris, and everything she still owns is in her car. The Polish woman refuses to accept that her career is over at 29 as younger faces move up – and so she carries on living the life of the luxury hotel while, in truth, spending her nights in its underground car park. Birgit Möller shot “Valerie” in 2006 in Germany.

The idea came from a newspaper article about “shadow women” in the USA – homeless women who sleep in cars or under bridges while continuing to take part in social life. The film is Möller’s feature debut and, at the same time, her graduation film at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin. “Valerie” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2006 in the Spezial Deutschland section.

Shown at the 2006 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2006 · Film Archive