Incredibly, the exceptionally accomplished The Days Between is Maria Speth’s graduation film, and also winner of a Tiger award at the Rotterdam film festival. Influenced by the Asian masters of urban anomie, namely Tsai Ming-liang and Wong Kar Wai, The Days Between is a moody, flickering neon set piece perfectly attuned to the night wanderings of its steely and volatile lead character, Lynn (Sabine Timoteo, who also appears in Petzold’s Ghosts). A go-go dancer by night, Lynn spends much of her day in the bathtub, smoking and drinking, often both at the same time. She grows uncertain of her relationship with David, a professional swimmer whose regimen clashes with her reckless way of life, though his Olympic body remains a temptation. While working in a school cafeteria, a striking Japanese student catches Lynn’s eye and though the two can barely communicate they become accomplices to the Berlin night. Shot by Angela Schanelec’s superb cinematographer Reinhold Vorschneider, The Days Between gives off an iridescent, atmospheric glow, capturing the seductive, nocturnal mood of Berlin at the turn of the twenty-first century. “Displays an assured visual aesthetic and a strong feel for the stark urban landscapes her characters drift through in search of a sense of purpose” (David Rooney, Variety).