Producer-director Abhishek Pathak and director-writer Sandeep Francis are celebrating a major milestone: their 11-minute thriller, Switch Off, has been officially selected for the 32nd L'Etrange Festival in Paris. The film will be screened at the iconic Forum des Images, marking a ‘significant international achievement’ for the entire team.
For both filmmakers, bringing the thriller to a major European stage represents a ‘proud moment’ for Indian genre cinema abroad. "Being selected for L’Étrange Festival Paris is a wonderful recognition for the film and the team," shares Pathak.
Echoing the excitement, Francis adds, "I'm really excited about the selection. One of the things that has been most rewarding so far is hearing how audiences respond to the central idea." The project’s momentum continues to build following positive international reactions, including a screening at South Korea’s BIFAN , “The film is over ten minutes long, but my hope is that it stays with you much longer,” says Farncis.
Pathak eagerly waits how Parisian viewers will engage with the film's unpredictable setup. "I think they will connect with the way the story is told. The film gets the audience into the world very quickly and keeps the story moving. There is a certain unpredictability to the way it unfolds, which I think will work well with a festival audience."
For Pathak, the gratification of an international festival run offers a special fulfillment "They are very different experiences. A box-office success gives you the excitement of scale, while a festival selection gives you the satisfaction of seeing a story travel in a completely different environment. For us, having Switch Off selected at L’Étrange Festival Paris is a very special moment."
{{/usCountry}}For Pathak, the gratification of an international festival run offers a special fulfillment "They are very different experiences. A box-office success gives you the excitement of scale, while a festival selection gives you the satisfaction of seeing a story travel in a completely different environment. For us, having Switch Off selected at L’Étrange Festival Paris is a very special moment."
{{/usCountry}}Having edited thrillers like Drishyam 2 and Shaitaan, Francis shares. "My primary goal in editing, especially with thrillers is to keep the audience engaged. As an editor, I'm always thinking about whether every sequence, scene, and shot is helping move the story forward," he explains. "We get into the central premise right from the opening scene and then keep the film as tight as possible."
What instantly drew Pathak to back the project was its sharp atmospheric execution. "What attracted me was the way Sandeep had approached the story. The film largely takes place at night, beginning inside a small mobile repair shop where the repairman is working alone. From there, he finds himself alone on the streets of Kochi. Keeping the character isolated and the world around him increasingly empty Sandeep has managed to create an engaging experience," he details.
"The idea itself is simple, but an interesting cinematic way of presenting it did work well. When I saw it, I felt there was enough happening within those few minutes to keep an audience engaged and take them somewhere emotionally," concludes Pathak.
The 32nd L’Étrange Festival takes place at the Forum des images in Paris from September 1 to September 12, 2026.