A New Shift

Czech Republic2020documentary91'Fokus na Czechy (2022)

The eponymous New Shift is a programme supporting employees of mines in liquidation. It aims to help them to requalify and start a new life. Tomáš, who is 44, is one of many thousands. He has 3 children, lives alone, supports the Baník football club from Ostrava and likes to drink beer with his mates. He worked over half of his life underground and can use Excel. He signs up for a 4-month programming course and once it is on his CV, he enters the labour market. The camera accompanies him over the next years capturing how he faces the new situation and the challenges he was unaware of.