The Last Picture Shows
A film by Rustin Thompson
Executive Producer, Rachel Price, Foghorn Features
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“An affectionate and wistful ode to movie houses and palaces around America.”
–The Santa Barbara Independent
Booking Agent: Jessica Prosner/jessicaprosner@gmail.com
Sales Agent: Gary Rubin/garyjrubin@gmail.com
Writer-Director: Rustin Thompson/Film Inquiries: rustindt58@gmail.com
Ten states. 10,825 miles. 123 theaters.
An elegy for small-town cinemas.
Filmmaker Rustin Thompson journeys into the American West on a search for traces of what was once a center of small-town life: the movie theater. On the trip, he finds long abandoned and forgotten cinemas; movie houses that have fallen into disrepair; theaters recently closed, theaters struggling to hold on, and theaters that—thanks to their thoughtful caretakers—are not only surviving but thriving. Between the stops along the way, Rustin poetically intersperses excerpts from Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 classic film The Last Picture Show, as well as reflections on past and present hardships facing the film exhibition industry. The Last Picture Shows is not only a timely portrait of an industry in crisis, one facing the headwinds of consolidation, streaming, and the diminishing theatrical experience, but it also reminds viewers that even in vast cinema deserts, there are oases of community and gathering that remain, where the movie house continues to be a place of wonder, contemplation, and connection.
Upcoming Play Dates
In-person Filmmaker Q&As unless otherwise noted
Winthrop, WA, The Barnyard Cinema, July 5th Buy tickets
Kingston, WA, Firehouse Theater, July 12 Buy tickets
Tacoma, Grand Cinemas, July 14 Buy tickets
Seattle, Tasveer Cinema, July 15 Buy tickets
Bellingham, WA, The Pickford, July 18 Buy tickets
Camas, WA, Liberty Theater, July 29 Buy tickets
Portland, OR, Hollywood Theater, July 30 Buy tickets
Corvallis, OR, Darkside Cinema, July 31
New York, Village East Cinema, August 7-13
Bremerton, WA, Westsound Film Festival, August 9
Huntington, Long Island, Cinema Arts, August 9 Buy tickets
Somerville, MA, Somerville Theater, August 16
Los Angeles, Laemmle Royal Theater, August 21-27 Buy tickets
Birmingham, Alabama, Sidewalk Film Festival, August 24-30
Tulsa, Circle Cinema, Benefit Screening, August 27th
Ojai, Ojai Playhouse, August 29th Buy tickets
More to come! Stay Tuned!
Past Play Dates
Fine-Cut Preview Screening Dec. 4 at 7pm/Carsey-Wolf Center, UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Feb. 9 and 10 (World Premiere)
Flathead Lake International Cinemafest. Feb. 14 (Nominee for Best Documentary)
Oxford Film Festival (Honorable Mention)
Ashland Film Festival (Benefit Screening)
Spokane International Film Festival. March 8 (Closing Night film)
Credo Film Festival, Los Angeles (Finalist)
Thin Line Film Festival. Denton, Texas (Best Film and Artistic Vision Nominee)
Ethnografilm Festival, Paris.
Desertscape Film Festival. St. George, Utah (Best Film Nominee)
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival (CA)
Arizona International Film Festival, Tucson (Special Jury Award for Cultural & Historical Filmmaking)
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival (Best Documentary Honorable Mention)
Benefit Screening for the River Oaks Theater. Houston, TX.
Gallup International Film Festival
deadCenter Film Festival, Oklahoma City