Nightshift

Robina Rose

Action is distilled into an eerie series of moods in Robina Rose’s beguiling film, which takes place in a small hotel over the course of one desk clerk’s night shift, and indelibly conjures a nocturnal state of mind.

DIRECTOR
Robina Rose
YEAR
1981
COUNTRY
U.K.
RUNTIME
68 minutes

Intro from cinematographer Jon Jost on Oct. 8

Action is distilled into an eerie series of moods in Robina Rose’s beguiling film, which takes place in a small hotel over the course of one desk clerk’s night shift. Time stretches as routine tasks give way to the ethereal fantasies of those spending the night in the transitive space. Shot over five days at the Portobello Hotel in West London, Nightshift makes use of a location that the filmmakers worked at themselves when money was tight. Their connection with the space accounts for the lived-in feeling that defines the film, which blurs the line between the familiar and the fantastic, and indelibly conjures a nocturnal state of mind. An Arbelos Films release.

Nightshift has been digitally restored by Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts (Philadelphia) in collaboration with the British Film Institute and Cinenova. Restoration funding provided by Ron and Suzanne Naples. Restored in 4K resolution from the original 16mm reversal a/b rolls and 16mm optical track on loan from the British Film Institute. Digital picture restoration: Illuminate Hollywood. Color grading: Andrew Drapkin. Sound restoration and transfers: John Polito, Audio Mechanics. Restoration supervised by: Ross Lipman, Corpus Fluxus. Special thanks: Robina Rose, Jesse Pires, Charlotte Procter, Kieron Webb, Lynn McVeigh.

Recommended Film Comment reading:

Sign up to the Film Comment Letter for NYFF62 coverage and more original film criticism year-round!

Nightshift
Nightshift
Nightshift

Read More

Videos

On the latest episode of FLC Luminaries, our video series that spotlights talent at all levels of the filmmaking process who uplift the art and craft of cinema, Our Land (Nuestra Tierra) director Lucrecia Martel discusses her expansive and enlightening first feature documentary.

Post

This week we’re excited to present a conversation from the 63rd New York Film Festival with Romería director Carla Simón, moderated by NYFF Main Slate selection committee member Florence Almozini.

Announcements

The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) and Film at Lincoln Center today unveil the second wave of programming for its landmark 25th edition, adding more than 40 films to an already wide-ranging lineup, with very special final titles still to come.