TrustNordisk is proud to announce that FRANK & LOUIS the upcoming drama from acclaimed director Petra Volpe, will make its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2026 in the Premieres section.
FRANK & LOUIS is a powerful drama that dives deep into themes of redemption, humanity, and compassion. Leading the cast are Kingsley Ben-Adir (BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE; BARBIE) and Rob Morgan (MUDBOUND; DON’T LOOK UP), joined by multiple Grammy-winning artist and actor René Pérez Joglar (IN THE SUMMERS), Indira Varma (GAME OF THRONES) and Rosalind Eleazar (SLOW HORSES).
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 UK’s Caspian Films.
Petra Volpe arrives at this next milestone following the recent success of her drama LATE SHIFT, which world-premiered at Berlin International Film Festival 2025 in the Special Gala section and is now Switzerland’s official entry for the upcoming Academy Awards®. LATE SHIFT has performed strongly across German-speaking territories, underscoring Volpe’s ability to deliver compelling, critically and commercially resonant films. She previously wrote and directed the internationally acclaimed THE DIVINE ORDER, winner of the Nora Ephron Prize, the Audience Award, and the Best Actress Award at Tribeca Film Festival, which cemented her reputation as one of Switzerland’s most vital and socially engaged filmmakers.
Now Volpe is ready to present her first English-language feature film at Sundance Film Festival, where more than 15,000 films are submitted each year, including around 4,000 feature films, whilst in the end only around 90 feature films make it in the final program.
”For most of my career, Sundance existed as a cultural force I admired from afar and I’m so honoured and grateful that FRANK & LOUIS will have its world premiere in Park City. I feel it’s the perfect place for the film’s first encounter with an audience. The story is profoundly American, rooted in the complexities of the prison complex, crime, care, punishment, and masculinity, but it is told from outside the American gaze. In that sense, Sundance offers not just prestige, but a context: a space where American narratives could be re-examined through different cultural lens, and where audiences are accustomed to engaging critically with stories that challenge familiar frames.”, says Petra Volpe.
Synopsis:
Frank (Kingsley Ben-Adir), serving a life sentence, takes a prison job caring for incarcerated elders with Alzheimer’s and dementia. What begins as a self-serving bid for parole becomes a profound, transformative bond with Louis (Rob Morgan), the man he looks after, offering Frank a glimpse of redemption in an unforgiving place.
“We are incredibly proud that FRANK & LOUIS will have its world premiere in the prestigious Premieres Section at Sundance. With her English language debut Petra Volpe has created a deeply moving and powerful film that resonates far beyond the prison walls where the story unfolds. It is a film with heart, depth and emotional resonance, and we are truly excited to share it with festival audiences for the very first time.”, says Susan Wendt, Managing Director at TrustNordisk.
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 Georgie Paget and Thembisa Cochrane from 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.