North American Premiere
As nurse Floria (Leonie Benesh, The Teacher’s Lounge) patrols a Swiss hospital’s surgical ward, her preternatural composure is rivalled only by the devotion she demonstrates for her patients. Time and again, she proves herself levelheaded in a milieu where the stakes are very much life or death. But when a colleague fails to show on a night when the ward is at capacity, the increased demands on Floria have her careening between demanding patients, pushing her ever closer to a breaking point that few suspected she possessed.
The film’s Swiss German title Heldin translates to “heroine”, and director Petra Volpe (The Divine Order) employs a bracing 88 minutes to certify that Floria is fully deserving of that designation. Unfolding at an exhilarating pace as Floria whirls through the ward’s labyrinthian halls navigating a succession of seemingly impossible decisions, Late Shift quickens the pulse more frequently than most multiplex action films. And, rather than a fleeting hit of adrenaline, it instils a deep sense of admiration for selfless souls like Floria.
Oscar Submission: Switzerland
Supported by
Community Partner
Leonie Benesch, Sonja Riesen, Alireza Bayram, Selma Aldin, Urs Bihler, Margherita Schoch
Switzerland/Germany
2025
In German with English subtitles
At International Village
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Producer
Reto Schaerli, Lukas Hobi
Screenwriter
Petra Volpe
Cinematography
Judith Kaufmann
Editor
Hansjörg Weissbrich
Production Design
Beatrice Schulz
Original Music
Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
Petra Volpe
Screenwriter and director Petra Volpe studied at the Konrad Wolf Film University in Potsdam-Babelsberg. Her feature film debut, Dreamland (2014), was nominated for four Swiss Film Awards, and in 2017, Volpe gained worldwide attention with her film The Divine Order, which became a major box office success in Switzerland and screened around the world. She wrote the screenplays for the film Heidi (2015), the successful SRF series Labyrinth of Peace (2020), and The Golden Years (2022), which became the most successful Swiss feature film of 2022 in German-speaking Switzerland and was sold internationally, including to the US.
Filmography: Kleine Fische (2007); Schönes Wochenende (2006); Frühling im Herbst (2009); Dreamland (2013); The Divine Order (2017)
Photo by Salvatore Vinci
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