Last Film Show

A beautiful love letter to the movies and cinema culture.

Reality is better in the movies, according to an old saying amongst film nerds – and a perfect description for the protagonist of this year’s opening film at Films From the South, 9-year-old Samay. He lives with his parents in a remote village in India, and isn’t quite like the other boys his age. One day he is lucky enough to make friends with the scruffy projectionist Fazal. – who works at the cinema where Samay often hides away from his surroundings. Samay persuades Fazal to take him on as his new assistant. To the boy, it is a dream come true to get up close with the magic of putting the 35mm film into the machine, and watching the light beam reach through the screening room all the way down to the screen. There are definite similarities to the all-time classic Cinema Paradiso here.

For everyone who loves film and cinema, this film is a touching and beautiful love letter to our chosen medium. It will charm, thrill and spellbind you. We can’t help but take delight in the love and energy that Samay invests into earning his place in the projection room. The storytelling is efficient, with brilliant overall production quality; and the performance by young Bhavin Rabari as our film-loving hero is simply unforgettable. Director Pan Nalin is a self-taught master of Indian cinema, known for films such as Angry Indian Goddesses (2015) and Samsara (2001).

For a film festival celebrating the return to physical cinema venues this November, Last Film Show is a beautiful gem of pure movie enthusiasm. We can’t wait to share it with you.

Lasse Skagen

Director

Pan Nalin is a self-taught screenwriter, director, producer, and editor from Gujarat, India. As a youngster, Nalin would make wedding videos in order to pay for his own eduction and filmmaking. From there, he worked his way into the national film industry and could eventually begin work on his own film projects. His debut feature Samsara (2001) was screened at numerous international film festivals.

This film is part of