SYNOPSIS
THE SHIFT is the story of one 12 hour night shift in the ER where a veteran nurse, who struggles with the haunting guilt of his brother's drowning, is forced to train a new nurse. The veteran nurse, Kayle (Leonel Oliva), and the new nurse, Amanda (Casey Fitzgerald), are at odds throughout the story because, while they both struggle with the spiritual turmoil of what is right and wrong, they have both come to very different conclusions. Kayle, who was trained by Floyd (Danny Glover), believes in doing whatever is best for the patient, even if that means letting them rest in peace. Amanda believes you should fight for everyone until there is nothing left. While Kayle and Amanda take care of several patients that night, there is one patient, a young girl named Emily (Genesis Ochoa), who makes them question their beliefs. Emily is dying of cancer and has come to the ER due to another infection. The dichotomy of Emily's bravery and her mother's distress eats at the hearts of the two nurses. When Emily's situation suddenly becomes more serious, Kayle and Amanda are forced to make impossible decisions.
PANELISTS BIOS
Melanie DiPietro, producer
Melanie is the CEO of M.A.D. Elephant, Inc. After editing for 10 years, she got her start in producing at the University of Miami where she produced three award winning short films, two of which were screened at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. After moving to LA in 2011, she has worked on several projects as Producer, Assistant Director, or Script Supervisor. Her latest feature film, THE SHIFT won the Audience Choice Award at the Palm Beach International Film Festival in 2013 and secured domestic distribution. THE SHIFT also won for Best Feature and Best Actress and the Widescreen Film Festival in Miami, FL in 2015. THE SHIFT was the first feature she produced with her producing partner, Leo Oliva. Her past feature producing credits include YOUTH OF CHRIST which was distributed by Maverick Entertainment and a “Spanglish” film titled EL EMPANTANADO (The Muddy).
Leo Oliva, writer, actor, executive producer
Leo is a Miami bred filmmaker and founder of Oliva Productions. He studied acting at the University of Miami while obtaining his degree in nursing. In October of 2007, Leo arrived in California and within three months he managed to work on multiple low budget independent projects while landing another steady job on the graveyard shift at Kaiser Permanente in their ICU. Over the next two years, Leo would hone his craft as an actor by working on many different projects, including the Emmy winning FX TV series Louie. In 2009, he officially became a graduate of the Sanford Meisner Studio. Before tasking himself with a feature length script, THE SHIFT, Oliva wrote, produced and starred in a short film, entitled SPOILS OF WAR.
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