Abhishek Pathak and Sandeep Francis’ ‘Switch Off’ Heads to Paris’s L’Étrange Festival: It is a very special moment

Producer-director Abhishek Pathak and director-writer Sandeep Francis have registered a proud moment as their 11-minute thriller ‘Switch Off’ has been officially selected for the 32nd L’Étrange Festival in Paris. The film will be screened at the iconic Forum des Images, marking a prominent feat for the team. “Being selected for L’Étrange Festival Paris is a wonderful recognition for the film and the team,” shares Pathak.

‘Switch Off’ continues to make a mark, attracting positive reactions on a global level, including a screening at South Korea’s BIFAN. As the film features an unpredictable setup, Pathak eagerly awaited how the Parisian viewers would connect with it. “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,” he says.

The satisfaction of the film making an international festival run offers an unmatched fulfillment for Pathak. “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,” he adds.

Revealing what attracted him towards the project, he says, “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.”

“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.