Vancouver Foreign Film Society
Our Sponsored Films VIFF2025
Year: 2025
Director and writer: Petra Biondina Volpe.
Awards Trailer
Runtime: 92 Minutes
Country of Origin: Switzerland/Germany
Language: In German with English subtitles
Synopsis
As nurse Floria (Leonie Benesh, The Teacher’s Lounge) patrols a Swiss hospital’s surgical ward, her preternatural composure is rivalled only by the devotion she demonstrates for her patients. Time and again, she proves herself levelheaded in a milieu where the stakes are very much life or death. But when a colleague fails to show on a night when the ward is at capacity, the increased demands on Floria have her careening between demanding patients, pushing her ever closer to a breaking point that few suspected she possessed.
The film’s Swiss German title Heldin translates to “heroine”, and director Petra Volpe (The Divine Order) employs a bracing 88 minutes to certify that Floria is fully deserving of that designation. Unfolding at an exhilarating pace as Floria whirls through the ward’s labyrinthian halls navigating a succession of seemingly impossible decisions, Late Shift quickens the pulse more frequently than most multiplex action films. And, rather than a fleeting hit of adrenaline, it instils a deep sense of admiration for selfless souls like Floria.
Thursday October 02 8:30pm Granville Island Stage Book
Friday October 3:30pm Fifth Avenue Cinema – 19+ only Book
Wednesday October 08 6:15pm International Village 9 Book
Year: 2025
Director: Stefan Djordjevic
Awards: Trailer
Runtime 104 Minutes
Country of Origin: Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia
Language: Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia
Synopsis
In this quietly affecting, deeply personal debut, Stefan Djordjevic subtly but notably occupies both sides of the camera, painting a delicate portrait of a young man processing the loss of his mother. On his way to reunite with family at their lake house to celebrate his grandmother’s birthday, he hits a dog with his car. As he rescues and nurtures the wounded animal back to health, his own heart begins to mend.
Featuring an award-worthy canine performance and a cast of mostly the director’s own relatives, this gentle meditation on family and loss is steeped in the cadence of natural life, the passage of time, and moments of stillness. Stefan’s assured docufictional methodology and use of personal footage give the film a gravitas that is sensitively repurposed into a celebration of life — the ultimate nod to those no longer with us.