“Last Party,” the feature film debut of Swiss and French filmmaker Nicolas Dozol, will make its US debut at the Laemmle Monica Film Center from February 9–16 in Santa Monica. The film is being distributed by LA-based Synergetic and is the first feature film produced by the young Swiss company Lights Rush.
A mystery coming-of-age story, part horror, part fantasy, part thriller, “Last Party” takes place during a high school graduation party where four teenagers in the midst of an existential crisis are confronted with their angst. When they suddenly find themselves locked up, they wonder if it might be their last night ever. The film is choreographed by 28 long takes, giving the illusion of a single real shot, and was shot in just five days.
“Last Party,” a New Breed Entertainment production, is directed by Dozol, written by Leah Ladoux, Paul Tomasini, Chloe Vittenet, and Dozol, and produced by Mathilde Errand and Dozol. The film stars breakout newcomers Lucie Cecchi, Remi Gerard, Uma Condolo, and Teddy Hardy. The cinematography is by Aurel Ganz.
“The story presents four teenagers who let go of their carefree ways and face situations that force them to become adults. It’s as if this final evening is the transition from teenage to adult life. This involves certain rituals, a form of responsibility or letting go, a loss of innocence, and depressive drift. All four characters emerge transformed from this experience.
I set out to make a film that evokes the angst of being a teenager, whether it stems from an inner anxiety or comes from the outside.
To express these discomforts, I presented crude sequences, and to express an escape from reality, which can sometimes be difficult, I used fantastical sequences. So I used the genre film to talk about teenage unease and vertigo,” says Dozol.
Dozol first studied dance at the Conservatoire de Lyon and at the Rudra Béjart school-atelier in Lausanne (Maurice Béjart’s school) and is still a member of the Opéra de Paris ballet.
He then continued his studies in cinema at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français (CLCF) in Paris, directing numerous short fiction films, documentaries, and commercials. “Last Party” is his first feature film.
