NZIFF: Late Shift

Plunging through the corridors of a surgical ward, this frantic Swiss drama charts the pulse-racing worklife of an overstretched, underappreciated nursing professional.

“I’m so sorry, it’s just the two of us today.” This is nurse Floria’s constant refrain as she darts from one emergency to the next, understaffed for an evening in which the ward is already bulging at capacity. It’s a manic peek behind the hospital curtain of a particularly busy day of nursing life.

Clocking in with Floria at the beginning of the shift and never leaving her for a second, the camera shuttles through a hectic flurry of bodily fluids, uncooperative patients, fastidious procedures, impatient colleges, small victories, and painful failings.

Leonie Benesch (The Teachers’ Lounge NZIFF 2024) brings nurse Floria alive with a sensitive balance of brusque professionalism and guarded compassion. Zipping through complex processes, organising resources on the fly, fielding patient questions from all angles – it’s clear the nurse is extremely good at what she does. It’s equally clear that she’s being asked to do far too much.
Director and screenwriter Petra Volpe (The Divine Order) invests the story with equal parts clinical exactness and tender generosity. The most belligerent of patients finds space to be vulnerable, saintly healthcare workers are given the grace to make mistakes. — Adrian Hatwell

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