Oscar-Shortlisted ‘Last Film Show’ Lines Up French Theatrical Run

Pan Nalin‘s award-winning Gujarati-language drama “Last Film Show” will open in French cinemas on June 10, with Friday Entertainment bringing the picture to more than 100 screens under its French-language title “La Dernière Séance,” following an acquisition from Studiocanal.

The India-France co-production, originally titled “Chhello Show,” served as India’s official submission to the 95th Academy Awards and earned a shortlist placement in the international feature film category in 2023. Its prior festival record includes the Golden Spike Best Picture prize at Spain’s Seminci Valladolid, the audience award runner-up at Tribeca, and the Snow Leopard Award for best film at the Asian World Film Festival of Los Angeles.

“The film has been sold worldwide to prestigious partners including Shochiku in Japan, Medusa in Italy and Samuel Goldwyn Films in the U.S. It has played dozens of international festivals and enjoyed successful theatrical releases across multiple territories. Studiocanal is now delighted to bring French audiences Pan Nalin’s heartfelt love letter to cinema, to be experienced on the big screen across France,” said Juliette Hochart, executive vice president, library, at Studiocanal.

Friday Entertainment, whose Indian releases across France and Europe have ranged from mass entertainers “K.G.F.” and “Kantara” to recent outings “Dhurandhar,” “Kalki,” “Jawaan” and “Coolie,” is now extending its footprint into art-house territory with the acquisition. Co-founder Deepak Bascarin said: “When we discovered that the French territory for ‘Last Film Show’ is still open, we instantly jumped at the opportunity to release this masterly crafted film in France. We have been following the film’s journey as it was theatrically being released across the world with such tremendous success.”

Partner Jayanthan Venkattaraman added: “Since his debut film ‘Samsara,’ we knew that the director Pan Nalin is such a gifted and global storyteller. But still, we were truly impressed how global audiences have embraced this love letter to cinema. We have no doubt that this emotionally charged film would make French people fall in love with cinema all over again.”

The film draws on Nalin’s memories of growing up in Gujarat, centering on a young boy named Samay, played by Bhavin Rabari, whose life revolves around his local cinema – until the shift from 35mm to digital projection threatens to upend everything he loves about moviegoing.

Nalin is currently in Paris ahead of the French release. “How exciting! Such news restores your faith in cinema. We had never imagined such a long-lasting theatrical run in times where theatrical distribution is becoming a distant dream. We have now released the film in more than 50 countries. I’ve personally traveled to half of those countries and witnessed the first-hand love for ‘Last Film Show.’ This is also such a great moment for my team; without their talent, love, and hard work the film would not have existed,” the director said.

The film is available to stream in India via Netflix, while audiences in the U.S. and Spain can access it through Prime Video.

Production credits are shared between Dheer Momaya of Jugaad Motion Picture, Nalin of Monsoon Films and Marc Duale of Stranger88, with Virginie Lacombe of Virginie Films and Eric Dupont of Incognito Films as co-producers. Julie Braun and Paola Gouge are handling French press and publicity. Studiocanal holds world sales rights.