WOMAN OF THE HOUR

Other movies
SINK
Director: Zain Duraie
Behind the facade of a perfect life, Nadia, a 40-year-old wife and mother of three, struggles with her marriage and a lost sense of self, leaving her emotionally detached. Her one true connection is with her eldest son, Basil, a brilliant but unsociable high school senior. When a violent outburst at school leads to his suspension, Nadia’s world crumbles. On the verge of burnout, she attempts to care for him, but as she battles her own crisis, she's pulled into his undiagnosed mental illness. As his condition spirals, Nadia's struggle to prove that her son is normal intensifies. The film is an intimate look into a powerful maternal bond and a portrait of unconditional love in the face of chaos.
GHOST SCHOOL
Director: Seemab Gul
This gentle yet arresting debut feature from Seemab Gul centers around 10-year-old Rabia, a clear-eyed, logical-thinking, courageous child protagonist who wants to understand the real reason for the abrupt closure of her school. Rumours start that the school is haunted and her teacher is possessed by supernatural beings. However, her day-long quest for the truth, fuelled by her simple desire for an education, leads her into an adult world that has been plunged into superstition. What soon becomes clear are the machinations behind a corrupt regime and classist society, giving way to the nature of its real victims. Ghost School is a bittersweet portrayal of injustice for Rabia and the hope of a better future for all younger generations.
LATE SHIFT
Director: Petra Volpe
Petra Volpe’s salute to caregivers is executed with strength and admiration. Led by a nuanced and meticulous performance from Leonie Benesch, Late Shift is an eloquent plea for compassion, as well as being a gripping story about a day in the life of a hospital worker. Floria (Benesch) is a nurse on an understaffed surgical ward, where she balances the constant demands of her patients — medical and emotional — knowing that every decision she makes (or neglects) could have fatal consequences. Floria, and Volpe’s camera, are constantly on the move to beeping monitors and crash carts in the ward’s confined quarters. As Switzerland’s Oscar submission, Late Shift delivers high drama and a sharp question: who will care for the carers?
PRIMAVERA
Director: Damiano Michieletto
Primavera is a haunting story set in a vividly recreated Venice, a tale of art and music, opportunity and repression. Damiano Michieletto’s drama transports us to the Ospedale della Pietà in the early 1700s, an orphanage where musically gifted girls perform new works as part of a lucrative orchestra. When Antonio Vivaldi is hired, he identifies Cecilia’s clear talent and makes her first violin, but her fate has been long-since foretold. Tecla Insolia plays Cecilia with a tenderness that cuts through time — her predicament reverberating across the ages. While not completely factual, Vivaldi did teach at the Ospedale for 40 years, and the film is based on a literary novel whose core truth resonates here.