Police

Night Shift | Bis an die Grenze
Virginie, Erik and Aristide are police officers. All three try to keep their personal and emotional lives together while dealing with daily incidents of violence in homes and on the streets. One night, they are assigned an unusual mission: to drive a migrant to the airport for unspecified reasons. On the way there, Virginie discovers that the man will be sentenced to death if he goes back to his country. Faced with an unbearable dilemma, she starts to question their mission. The trio has one night to decide a man’s fate. Prolific French filmmaker Anne Fontaine tackles this dramatic and relevant topic with all the intensity and empathy it requires. Her stellar French actors are as committed as the characters they embody are hesitant. They are supported by Iran’s Payman Maadi who gives a devastating performance as the Tajikistani who can’t speak a word of his “host” country’s language. Their struggle to express a variety of overwhelming emotions resonates deeply and moves the viewer beyond words.
by Anne Fontaine
with Omar Sy, Virginie Efira, Grégory Gadebois, Payman Maadi
France 2019 French 98’ Colour World premiere

With

  • Omar Sy (Aristide)
  • Virginie Efira (Virginie)
  • Grégory Gadebois (Erik)
  • Payman Maadi (Tohirov)

Crew

Director Anne Fontaine
Screenplay Claire Barré
Cinematography Yves Angelo
Editing Fabrice Rouaud
Sound Design Jean-Pierre Laforce
Sound Brigitte Taillandier
Production Design Arnaud de Moléron
Costumes Emmanuelle Youchnovski
Make-Up Frédéric Marin
Assistant Director Laure Prévost Guarino
Casting Pascale Béraud
Production Manager Laurent Perrot
Producers Jean-Louis Livi, Philippe Carcassonne

Produced by

F Comme Film

Ciné-@

Anne Fontaine

Born in Luxembourg in 1959, this French filmmaker began her career as a dancer and actor before working as a screenwriter and director. She made her directing debut in 1993 with Les histoires d’amour finissent mal en général, which won the Jean Vigo Award. Her films also include Nathalie, Coco avant Chanel, Gemma Bovery as well as Les innocentes, which premiered at Sundance and won several awards.

Filmography

1993 Les histoires d’amour finissent mal en général (Love Affairs Usually End Badly) · Les histoires d'amour finissent mal en général (Love Affairs Usually End Badly) 1995 Augustin 1997 Nettoyage à sec (Dry Cleaning) 1999 Augustin, roi du Kung Fu (Augustin, King of Kung-Fu) 2001 Comment j’ai tué mon père (How I Killed My Father) · Comment j'ai tué mon père (How I Killed My Father) 2003 Nathalie 2005 Entre ses mains (In His Hands) 2006 Nouvelle chance (Oh La La) · Nouvelle chance (Oh La La!) 2008 La fille de Monaco (The Girl From Monaco) · La fille de Monaco (The Girl from Monaco) 2009 Coco avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) 2011 Mon pire cauchemar (My Worst Nightmare) 2013 Perfect Mothers (Adoration) 2014 Gemma Bovery 2016 Les innocentes (The Innocents) 2017 Marvin 2019 Blanche comme neige (Pure as Snow) · Blanche comme neige (Pure As Snow) · Police (Night Shift) 2021 Presidents

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023