“The Shift”, Interview with director Amalie Maria Nielsen

July 19, 2023

Amalie Maria Nielsen, director of The Shift, a delicate film about the encounters that influence our life

"The Shift", Interview with director Amalie Maria Nielsen Federica Scarpa

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In Amalie Maria Nielsen’s film The Shift, Milo, who lives in a community for troubled girls and who is going through a gender transition, meets Nicki, the only person who sees him for who he really is and supports him. However, things are about to change.

The short film by Amalie Maria Nielsen, presented at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Future Frames section, is, according to the director, a queer film which, however, does not focus on the gender transition of the protagonist, but on the encounter with those people, who in life they push you to be who you really want, supporting you.

Plot of The Shift: Milo lives in a home for wayward girls. While the other residents struggle with their problematic behavior, Milo is fighting a much bigger battle, for they are seeking to transition behind the walls of the institution. The only person who notices their change and is supportive is Nicki, an attendant at the home who is Milo’s male role model and also the person onto whom they project their desired identity. But the institution’s walls are too thin for Milo not to hear a rumor that turns their life upside down. More than an exploration of the fragile nature of gender identity, The Shift above all looks at the importance of having a source of support at times when our perception of ourselves is changing.
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