MUMBAI: Pan Nalin's "Chhello Show" is the opening film of the Spotlight section at Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival this year. The festival will be held in-person from June 9 to June 20 in New York.

The Gujarati film, titled "Last Film Show" in English, features Richa Meena, Rahul Koli and Bhavin Rabari in key roles. Nalin, who is known for his films "Angry Indian Goddesses" and "Samsara", feels a premiere at Tribeca is great news for not just Gujarati cinema but Indian cinema, too.

"This news brings immense joy to me, and to my cast and crew who gave everything they have, through 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," the filmmaker said.

"'Last Film Show' ('Chhello Show') premiering at Tribeca is not only great news for Gujarati Cinema but also for Indian Cinema; 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," Nalin added.

Set against the backdrop of the disappearance of 35mm celluloid film and India's unique single-screen culture, the film acts as nostalgic musing for a time when single screen cinema was the place for people to escape their daily lives through a communal yet personal transformative entertainment experience.

Festival Director Cara Cusumano said: "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 program. This transportive film epitomises everything we have been missing for the last year in its celebration of the magic and community of the big-screen movie-going experience."

The festival will take place at various prestigious venues across New York. The details of the program will be announced closer to the date of the event.