Melbourne IFF 2025: Late Shift (dir. Petra Biondina Volpe) | Review
MIFF’s selection on the late-night shifts of nurses places a huge weight on our shoulders to comprehend both their plight and the value of humanity in Petra Biondina Volpe’s Heldin, selected as Switzerland’s entry for Best International Feature Film this year.
“Time waits for no man” – a tagline that never gets old, even after centuries. Looking deeper into this infamous idiom, it underscores the reality that there is no time to lose: every move has its consequences, and every memory carries its own strength. Late Shift (Heldin) centers on one of humankind’s most high-stakes and relentless professions, where every moment is precious – that of a hospital nurse with a timesheet that never ends.
Part of MIFF’s “Europe and UK” program, Heldin depicts nurse Floria, who is tasked with the late-night shift during an understaffed day, where responsibilities and patience are tested as she holds the fort through the night. The backbone of the film lies in actress Leonie Benesch (star of The Teachers’ Lounge), who delivers another deep and intense performance while navigating the layers of human characteristics within the world of care and compassion. We are given the opportunity to witness all possible emotional layers of a working nurse on a demanding night. There is almost a form of perfection in Benesch’s performance: agility and responsibility in patient care are portrayed with astonishing depth and technical control, followed by bursts of emotion when things spiral out of control, capturing the full weight of an overworked nurse’s reality.
The film takes a closer look at the adversities of patient and nursing care, the relentless workload, and its inevitable outcomes—without placing blame on dedicated nurses or their patients. Comparable in spirit to Laura Wandel’s Adam’s Sake but from a broader perspective, director Volpe insists we see through the eyes of nurses while also giving credit to doctors and patients, who are equally affected by the system. Volpe’s main approach is clear: whether it’s the unending demands of patients’ families that may seem unfair, or the complex procedures requiring unwavering attention from already overworked nurses, the heart of the issue is a system that exhausts its caregivers to the point where self-care becomes an impossible luxury.
A 2025 Berlinale Special Gala selection, Heldin is a heart-palpitating realist drama that highlights the plight of nurses worldwide with clarity, demanding recognition of their rights and urgent solutions to the global nursing shortage. The film holds our breath from the first second to the last, overwhelming us with distress while vividly pulling us into the bitter reality of nursing care. At its core lies a haunting question about the value of human life: whether in sickness, in death, or in the everyday reality of a blue uniform, how can we truly understand those in pain? And yet, amid the heartache comes a measure of emotional comfort—where bonds are strengthened and demands softened when nothing goes as planned, yet everything somehow falls into place. It may feel like a silent miracle, but Volpe ultimately leads us toward one essential truth: a deep regard for humanity is the very essence of genuine compassion.
