Chhello Show premiering at Tribeca is good news not only for Gujarati, but also for Indian cinema: Pan Nalin

As reported, director Pan Nalin’s Gujarati movie Chhello Show (also known as Last Film Show) will be the opening film of the Spotlight section at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, which will take place physically in June.

Pan said in a statement that the news brought immense joy to him as well as his cast and crew who "gave everything they had, in these difficult and testing times, to make Chhello Show.

"We could not have asked for more because Tribeca is a true temple of storytellers where masters have gathered and shared the stage with so many filmmakers,” he said.

“Last Film Show premiering at Tribeca is not only great news for Gujarati cinema, but also for Indian cinema," he continued. "It is perfect timing, and we all need this because the new era of piped-in entertainment is here where cinema is just ‘content’; net is flix, box is office, foot is fall, and phone is smart. So, I’m happy that Last Film Show is the movie to invite spectators back to the theatres.”

Written and directed by Pan, Chhello Show is about a boy (Bhavin Rabari) from Saurashtra who gets introduced to the world of cinema after striking a friendship with the projectionist of a movie theatre called Galaxy. The film also stars Vikas Bata, Richa Meena, Bhavesh Shrimali, Dipen Raval and Rahul Koli. 

Dheer Momaya, the film’s producer, said, “After a year of urban isolation and virtual events, we are super excited to premiere at an in-person festival and have audiences experience the film on a huge 40-foot screen in the spectacular outdoor venues of New York City. Considering the theme of our film, there could not be a better festival and celebration.”

Elaborating on why the film is meant for a global audience, he said, “This local story is universal in its emotion and theme, and it is certainly destined for a worldwide audience who have been craving for something filled with joy, nature, innocence, freshness and hope. The feel-good factor of LFS will certainly put a smile on spectators' faces.”

Festival director Cara Cusumano shared the reason for choosing Chhello Show as the opening film. “As the first major film festival of 2021 to be back in-person and the centrepiece of the reopening of the arts in New York, we couldn’t think of a more perfect film than Last Film Show to set the table for the Tribeca festival this year as the kick-off to our Spotlight programme. This transportive film epitomizes everything we have been missing for the last year in its celebration of the magic and community of the big-screen movie-going experience,” she said in a statement.