Film programme: A New Shift / Nová šichta

Location

entrance free

Details: CZ, 2020, 91 min., OmeU, Director: Jindřich Andrš 

Tomáš Hisem is a miner with all his soul. He worked underground for more than twenty years before the mine in Paskov in northern Moravia was closed for economic reasons. Tomáš and his colleagues are not immediately out on the street; they are offered retraining in the aptly named "New Shift" training programme. After all these years in the pit, the forty-four-year-old decides to retrain as an IT programmer.  But does he really have a chance of succeeding in this field amidst all the young digital natives who have also completed a university degree? 

Czech director Jindřich Andrš's first feature-length film is an observation that is as calm as it is captivating. Andrš accompanies his likeable protagonist in a gentle manner and succeeds in portraying his difficult life situation with dignity. The film was also awarded several international prizes for this, including the MDR Film Prize and the Golden Dove at DOK Leipzig 2020. 
 

With film discussion afterwards, moderated by Christina Frankenberg