“Best Director”

“Best Actress, Rebecca Lara Müller”

★★★★★

“Müller steals every scene she is in, making a truly memorable performance which she sinks herself into.”

’The Glow in the Night’ follows Sophie, a young german dressmaker who has the dream of living together with her husband Oscar in Paris. When the dream seems to be within reach, however, shocking news cross the plans and throw Sophie's life off course. In her search of a way back to normality, the situation becomes entangled and the protagonist unravels a terrifying secret.

This is the second season in a row we’ve received a film starring German actress ‘Rebecca Lara Müller’ and it’s the second time we’ve awarded her best actress! What we found most impressive is Müller’ range as a performer. The last time we saw her was in director Chris Carle’s award winning thriller ‘No Exit’. But now we’re given the opportunity to see her excel in this delightful short musical directed by Natalie Meyer.

Meyer clearly has great passion and understanding of the musical genre, as the musical songs feel completely warranted and not added in for the sake of it. The songs are a huge part of establishing the characters emotion and drive the film forward. Taking on such a film is an accomplishment in itself, but to execute it with such precision is most impressive. We expect Meyer has a background in musicals herself as it’s handled so well. It was also noted the large cast and extras used in many of the scenes which would put off many directors, but not in this case. We expect great things for Meyer, and hope to see more of her work in the future.

Rebecca Lara Müller steals every scene she is in, making a truly memorable performance which she sinks herself into. Not only does she bring a real world aspect to the character but she performs every song perfectly whilst performing the scenes and moving the story forward. It’s a breath of fresh air to see and hope more English audiences get to see, as it may help remind them that not all great actors and actresses come from English speaking countries.

The story is compelling and full of drama, giving it great appeal for audiences of all kinds. The whole cast delivers, especially supporting actor ‘Manuel Feneberg’ who plays opposite Müller. Giving a solid and endearing performance that feels real and every bit in love with Müller’ character Sophie. There is a real sense of love and respect between the two characters which feels natural.

The cinematography, locations, sets, costumes and finer details make this film stand out amongst other short films. The period clothing and lighting is used to great effect at creating a piece that feels part of the era. The crew did an excellent job at bringing this all together and is certainly worth mentioning. The score from Olaf Krause is superb and helps elevate the production quality of the film even further. The songs are memorable and enjoyable even to those that can’t understand the language, instead the music works on another level which is hard to achieve.

The Glow in the Night is a beautifully crafted musical where both cast and crew seem to have worked in perfect synchronisation to make it. Everything about this film works and you should see if you can…

— APEX Film Awards