Last Film Show

Set in a remote Indian village, Last Film Show follows Samay, a nine-year-old boy who discovers cinema and becomes determined to make it part of his life. Against his father's wishes, he keeps returning to a rundown movie palace, where he befriends the projectionist and earns a place in the booth in exchange for his lunch. What begins as a summer of watching films grows into a larger ambition, as Samay and his friends try to capture and project light themselves, chasing a dream that carries a cost for the things he loves.

The 2022 drama was directed and written by Pan Nalin, whose previous feature was Angry Indian Goddesses in 2015. It was produced by Dheer Momaya, Marc Duale and Siddharth Roy Kapur, and made as an Indian and French co-production with a budget of about 2 million US dollars. Bhavin Rabari plays Samay, with Richa Meena, Bhavesh Shrimali, Dipen Raval, Rahul Koli and Vikas Bata in supporting roles.

Audience response to the film has been favourable: it holds a rating of 7.4 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 4,900 votes, and 7.5 out of 10 on TMDB from a much smaller base of 52 votes. A critics' rating of 7.7 out of 10, drawn from 37 reviews, places it slightly above the audience scores, indicating broadly positive professional reception alongside its warm viewer following.