In an unusual festival and award season collaboration, the Zurich Film Festival has unveiled that it will present its Golden Eye Award to Swiss director Petra Volpe at a FYC screening of her Oscar-contending film Late Shift.
The Zurich Festival will present Volpe with her trophy at an AMPAS screening at the Soho House in Los Angeles on Monday. The Zurich festival is hosting the screening together with Late Shift’s U.S. distributor, Music Box Films. Volpe will accept her prize in person.
The film, which premiered in Berlin last year, is Switzerland’s official entry for the Best International Feature Oscar.
Volpe’s drama follows Leonie Benesch (September 5, The Teacher’s Lounge) playing an overextended nurse struggling through a demanding night shift at a Swiss hospital. Late Shift has been a cross-over hit in Europe, where it grossed more than $4 million.
“Petra Volpe has once again succeeded with Late Shift in creating a socially realist auteur film that is firmly rooted in the present, shedding light on the precarious working conditions in the nursing profession while paying tribute to the dedication of healthcare workers,” Zurich festival CEO Christian Jungen said in a statement. “In Switzerland, Late Shift became the most successful domestic film of the year with more than 200,000 admissions and sparked a national debate about improving working conditions in the care sector. In recognition of the film’s cinematic quality and its powerful contribution to public discourse, we are honoring Petra Volpe with the Golden Eye Award and wish her every success in the Oscar race.”
Volpe said she had a “special connection” to the Zurich festival, having premiered her first feature there. “It is wonderful to see how the festival has evolved, and I would like to sincerely thank Christian Jungen and the entire team for the award as well as for their support during the Oscar campaign,” she added. “And when it comes to our chances: you gotta believe!”
