Young, able and in need of gainful employment, Elena (Chara Mata Giannatou) decides to leave her crisis-stricken Athens home to seek greener pastures in Frankfurt. A friend offers Elena a gig waitressing in a nightclub, but after discovering that she is pregnant, the job becomes untenable. Elena starts working as a nanny for Tessa and Jan, an affluent young couple looking to resume their professional lives after having their baby. Elena finds it hard dealing with Tessa, who seems chilly and excessively strict with regards to her child’s routines and the way her household is to be run. One day, Elena goes out with the baby. She stops to buy a pastry, but once she returns to find an empty stroller, a nightmare scenario begins to unfurl.

The latest from Christian Zübert (whose Tour de Force screened at the Festival last year) gradually shifts from a single-protagonist narrative to the story of two women with completely different backgrounds suddenly hurled into the same terrible scenario. One Breath’s seamless mid-film transition from Elena’s predicament to Tessa’s formidable resolve provides the viewer with the tools to reconsider and expand their sympathies. It is an extraordinary feat—one that makes this Breath very much worth catching. – Andres Castillo