Petra Volpe’s Late Shift has been selected as Switzerland’s entry for the international feature award at the 2026 Oscars, with Music Box Films acquiring the title for North America.
TrustNordisk handles sales on the title, and has now confirmed sales to over 50 territories worldwide.
Late Shift follows a dedicated nurse on an understaffed hospital ward who becomes caught in a race against time. The Teachers’ Lounge and September 5 star Leonie Benesch leads the cast.
Written and directed by Volpe, the film is produced by Reto Schaerli and Lukas Hobi for Switzerland’s Zodiac Pictures, in co-production with MMC Zodiac, Swiss Radio and Television, and SRG SSR.
The film was released in Switzerland on February 27, holding the number one spot for four consecutive weeks. It has topped 650,000 admissions across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
It was chosen as the Swiss entry from a shortlist of three, alongside Denise Fernandes’ Hanami and Lionel Baier’s The Safe House.
“No one needs to bone up on the intricacies of the Swiss health care system before seeing Late Shift because Petra’s movie is universal, a grounded thriller that’s readily relatable to anyone who spends their working day on their feet,” said Brian Andreotti, head of acquisitions at Music Box.
“Late Shift offers a deeply human, relatable and engaging story. We believe that we, together with Music Box Films as our US partner, can make it really far,” added Susan Wendt, managing director at TrustNordisk.
Switzerland has made 46 entries to the international feature award, winning in 1991 for Journey Of Hope and 1985 for Dangerous Moves. It last made the shortlist with My Life As A Courgette for the 2017 awards.
Volpe has since filmed her English-language debut Frank & Louis for Zodiac Pictures and the UK’s Caspian Films earlier this year.
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