Scripted

Following the immense local box office success of Berlin-selected Late Shift, award-winning director Petra Volpe is set to direct her debut English-language film Frank & Louis (working title) with TrustNordisk handling the international sales rights.

In Frank & Louis, a man serving a life sentence takes an in-prison job caring for ageing and infirm prisoners suffering from memory loss diseases. What starts as a self-serving mission for parole turns into a deep emotional and transformative relationship with a fellow inmate, offering a glimmer of redemption in an otherwise unforgiving place.

Director Petra Volpe comments on the project:
‘This passion project has been over ten years in the making, and I’m incredibly excited and grateful for the amazing ensemble of truly passionate actors who are joining me on this journey to bring a beautiful, touching, and relevant story about the transformative power of compassion to the big screen. I hope this film will spark important conversations about aging and mental health within the prison system.’

A stellar cast on screen
The film began shooting on 30 April 2025 starring an internationally acclaimed cast with Kingsley Ben-Adir in the role of Frank (BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE, 2024; BARBIE, 2023; ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI, 2020) and Rob Morgan in the role of Louis (DON'T LOOK UP, 2021; BULL, 2019; MUDBOUND, 2017).

Leading the impressive international cast is critically acclaimed actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, most recently seen as Bob Marley in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE which opened at #1 at the US and international box office. Previous credits include starring as the lead villain in Marvel’s SECRET INVASION alongside Samuel L. Jackson for Disney+, and in Greta Gerwig’s BARBIE.

In 2021, he won the Trophée Chopard Award for ‘Male Revelation’ at the Cannes Film Festival and was also nominated for the EE Rising Star BAFTA Award the same year. Kingsley also starred in Regina King’s SAG-nominated directorial debut ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI, playing civil rights leader MALCOLM X, for which he received an IFP Gotham Award for ‘Breakthrough Actor’. He played the role of Barack Obama in Billy Ray’s THE COMEY RULE, and starred opposite Sarah Snook in AMC’s episodic anthology SOULMATES, created by Will Bridges and Brett Goldstein. Ben-Adir is repped by The B-side in the UK and CAA and by Range Media Partners in the US.

Kingsley Ben-Adir plays opposite Rob Morgan, named one of the 25 greatest actors of the century by The New York Times. A perennial festival darling, Morgan is well known for his scene-stealing work in the Oscar- nominated MUDBOUND, A24’s THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO and Warner Bros's JUST MERCY. He was nominated for best male lead at the Spirit Awards and awarded a Special Jury Award for his lead turn in BULL, which made its premiere at Cannes. He can also be seen in HBO’s WINNING TIME - the show is the second project Morgan has collaborated on with Adam McKay, the first being DON’T’ LOOK UP. Next up, Rob will be seen opposite Matthew McConaughey in THE RIVALS OF AMZIAH KING. Morgan is repped by Elysian Heights and Fox Rothschild.

The cast will also include Indira Varma (GAME OF THRONES), Rosalind Eleazar (SLOW HORSES) and René Pérez Joglar (Residente), globally celebrated as a multifaceted artist with an impressive record of 34 Grammy Awards, positioning him as a leading figure in contemporary music and culture. René's compelling performance in the Sundance Best picture winner IN THE SUMMERS earned him a nomination for Best Actor at the Independent Spirit Awards. Pérez Joglar is represented by CAA, Varma is represented by 42 in the UK and Principal Entertainment in the US, and Eleazar is represented by The Artists Partnership in the UK and Principal Entertainment in the US.

A top team behind the scenes
Besides a stellar cast on screen, the film brings together an exceptional creative team behind the scenes. The script is penned by the film’s director Petra Volpe, and Esther Bernstorff, and the production is led by Reto Schaerli and Lukas Hobi for Zodiac Pictures, Switzerland’s leading production company, together with Georgie Paget and Thembisa Cochrane for Caspian Films.

As both co-writer and director, Volpe brings significant experience and acclaim to the project. Volpe is a Swiss-Italian screenwriter and director. Her 2017 feature, THE DIVINE ORDER, was the Swiss entry at that year’s Academy Awards® and debuted and won three awards at the Tribeca Film Festival. Volpe’s debut film DREAMLAND (2013) was nominated for four Swiss Film Awards, and her screenplay, HEIDI (2015), went on to become Switzerland’s most internationally successful film of all time.
Her latest film LATE SHIFT, starring Leonie Benesch, celebrated its world premiere in the prestigious Special Gala section at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, where the film received a standing ovation and great reviews from the international media. Since its local release on February 27 2025, the film has performed exceptionally well in cinemas across Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, surpassing expectations and achieving a box office gross of USD 7 million within the first eight weeks and currently more than 550,000 admissions in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Volpe is represented by Cora Olson of Range Media Partners in the US and Beate Wolgast of Die Agenten in Germany.

Esther Bernstorff is a German writer of film and television. Her drama 4 KINGS (2015) was nominated for ‘Best Screenplay’ by the German Film Awards in 2016, and the following year, she took home the German Television Academy Award in the same category.

FRANK & LOUIS is directed by Petra Volpe and written by Petra Volpe and Esther Bernstorff. The film is produced by Reto Schaerli and Lukas Hobi from Zodiac Pictures, in co-production with Caspian Films, Swiss Radio and Television and SRG SSR. With support from Federal Office of Culture, Zürcher Filmstiftung, Suissimage, MEDIA Desk Suisse and the cantons of Aargau and Lucerne.
International sales are handled by TrustNordisk.