Leonie Benesch Shines in Petra Volpe’s ‘Late Shift,’ a High-Pressure Hospital Drama at the Berlinale

variety.com:

Callum McLennan Petra Volpe‘s “Late Shift” – which plays at this year’s Special Gala in Berlin – plunges into the high-pressure world of an understaffed Swiss hospital, unfolding close to real-time through the eyes of a dedicated nurse.

Produced by Zodiac Pictures, Swiss Radio and Television SRF, with world sales handled by TrustNordisk, the film marks a departure from Petra Volpe’s acclaimed suffrage comedy “The Divine Order,” Switzerland’s submission for best international film.

Instead, the director’s latest delivers a taut, empathetic drama that captures the stressful realities nurses face. Volpe immersed herself in research before making the film, accompanying nurses on hospital shifts to understand their daily struggles.

The idea for “Late Shift” took root after reading German nurse Madeline Calvelage’s nonfiction book “Our Profession Is Not the Problem – It’s the Circumstances.” “Just reading it gave me heart palpitations, and it sparked my initial inspiration to tell the story of one woman, one shift,” Volpe tells Variety. “Later, when I accompanied nurses in hospitals, I witnessed firsthand the immense mental and physical demands of their high-performance job.