Noticias

There’s an apt bluntness to the English-language title of Petra Volpe’s new feature. It says what’s necessary and gets the job done, not unlike the nurse at the center of Late Shift. It’s worth noting, though, that the Swiss-German film’s original title, Heldin, though similarly to-the-point, forgoes the just-the-facts modesty and cops to something that fuels the movie no less than the nuts and bolts of 21st century medical care: awed admiration. It means “heroine,” and there’s no question that Floria Lind, the devoted pro played with prodigious fluency by Leonie Benesch in this tense and immersing workplace drama, is as valiant as the most epically challenged protagonist in an action saga.

Volpe (The Divine Order) and her lead actor move through the hospital with a go-go-go energy that’s thoroughly gripping, never forced. Even before her shift begins, Floria’s engaged but terse...

How do you make a film about the relationship between a woman and her life-sized blow-up doll into a sensual and poignant exploration of addiction? In Elephant in the Room, Chanelle Eidenbenz does it by grounding her concept firmly in reality, finding her perfect lead in Doris Schefer, and allowing her instinctive and mesmerising performance to say things that cannot be said. The 20-minute drama, that tells the story of Irna, who seeks refuge in her rubber doll Elias as her relationship with her son deteriorates, is many things – heartbreaking, shocking, at times even close to absurd – but one thing it isn’t, is contrived. Alongside her thought provoking film’s premiere here on Dn today, Eidenbenz joins us to chat about everything from the importance of finding nuance in her storytelling to the challenges of travelling on public transport with a blow-up doll with an erect penis, and everything in-between.