BZ FILM OF THE YEAR 2025: HEROINE (in the presence of the author of the book adaptation Madeline Calvelage)

THE BZ AUDIENCE FAVORITE 2025: Nurse Floria (Leonie Benesch) works with great passion and professionalism in the surgery department of a Swiss hospital. Every move she makes is precise; even in stressful situations, she always has an open ear for her patients and is ready to step in at a moment's notice – ideally. However, in the harsh reality of her often unpredictable daily routine, things usually look different. When Floria starts her evening shift that day, one of the nursing staff is absent on the fully occupied, chronically understaffed ward. Despite the chaos, Floria cares for a seriously ill mother (Lale Yavas) and an elderly man (Urs Bihler), who is urgently waiting for his diagnosis, with the same care and routine as she does for the private patient (Jürg Plüss) with all his special requests. But then she makes a fateful mistake, and the shift threatens to spiral completely out of control. A nerve-wracking race against time begins. Petra Volpe addresses a highly relevant topic with HELDIN. The film is both a respectful homage to all nursing staff and a compelling plea for humanity and commitment. It highlights how essential good care is for all of us in times of illness. Leonie Benesch impresses with her powerful and captivating performance, leaving the cinema audience breathless and resonating with them long after the film ends. The award-winning Swiss filmmaker Petra Volpe not only wrote the screenplay for HELDIN but also returns to directing for the first time. Petra Volpe's successes as a screenwriter are impressive: The miniseries FRIEDEN was highly praised by critics and audiences alike, the book adaptation HEIDI is the most internationally successful Swiss film of all time, and the comedy DIE GOLDENEN JAHRE was the most popular domestic film in 2022. Her acclaimed feature film DIE GÖTTLICHE ORDNUNG attracted over 360,000 viewers to cinemas. The lead role is played by the multiple award-winning actress and German Film Award winner Leonie Benesch (DAS LEHRERZIMMER, DAS WEISSE BAND, BABYLON BERLIN, DER SCHWARM). For the award-winning drama DAS LEHRERZIMMER, in which she also starred, it received an Oscar nomination for Best International Film. Most recently, she appeared in Tim Fehlbaum's SEPTEMBER 5 alongside Peter Sarsgaard and Ben Chaplin, which premiered at this year's Venice Film Festival. HELDIN is the third collaboration between Petra Volpe and the award-winning German cinematographer Judith Kaufmann (DAS LEHRERZIMMER, CORSAGE, DIE FREMDE), who translates the everyday life of the clinic into impressive cinematic images. Source: tobis.de