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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Denmark

Lone Scherfig gets ready to shine some “Nordic Light” with The Shift

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- In her upcoming hospital-drama series, set to start shooting imminently, the Danish director will introduce a brand-new genre

Lone Scherfig gets ready to shine some “Nordic Light” with The Shift
Director Lone Scherfig (left) and lead actress Sofie Gråbøl (© Mattias Troelstrup)

Lone Scherfig’s hospital drama The Shift, set in a contemporary maternity ward, will follow Ella (Sofie Gråbøl, from The Killing). The department head is surrounded by new life each day, secretly wishing to become a mother herself yet struggling with relationships. Another character, paediatrician Jerry, has to deal with a broken marriage, while also hiding the problem from his religious community. All of these issues, and many more, will come together in this one place, Cineuropa has learnt.

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However, the Danish helmer is also planning to introduce a new genre in the eight-hour series, which will start shooting imminently in Copenhagen. “With Lone’s new ‘Nordic Light’ approach, The Shift will bring the atmosphere and suspense from the Nordic dramas we all fell in love with and add an uplifting, inspirational flair,” said Anais de Neergaard, VP International Sales and Acquisitions, Scandinavia, at Beta Film.

Scherfig, an established director behind such films as An Education [+see also:
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and the much-loved Italian for Beginners, is the series creator and main writer. “My ambition is for the series to possess quality and emotion, but still contribute to the narrative of our society, both politically and humanly. We find ourselves in the maternity ward at a brand-new, super hospital, a pulsating eternity machine. An apparent state of chaos that both creates life and reflects modern-day Scandinavian life,” she said in the statement.

Søren Balle is serving as conceptual director and Ole Christian Madsen as guest director. Malene Blenkov is producing for Denmark’s Creative Alliance.

Produced for Danish private broadcaster TV2 and TV2 Play, The Shift is supported by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond and the Danish Film Institute’s Public Service Fund. Beta Film handles the world sales, excluding Scandinavia and the Benelux.

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