Hector Babenco’s ‘My Last Friend’ Starring Willem Dafoe Re-Launched

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. label Rock Salt Releasing is re-launching acclaimed Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker Hector Babenco’s (Kiss Of The Spider Woman) final film My Last Friend in the international and U.S markets.

Willem Dafoe stars in the 2015 feature about a film director who learns he is on the brink of death. Rock Salt Releasing will launch international sales on the film, also known as My Hindu Friend, in Cannes.

Originally released in Brazil, the English-language movie internationally premiered at the Montréal World Film Festival in 2016 where Dafoe was awarded Best Actor. The film’s release was put on hold, however, due to Babenco’s untimely death in July 2016. Rock Salt’s parent company TriCoast Worldwide picked up the O2 Production feature on the advice of The Movie Agency.

Co-written by Guilherme Moraes Guintella (Principal Dancer), the project was inspired by Babenco’s own life story, starring his friends and family as characters. Mirroring Babenco’s personal journey, four-time Oscar nominee Dafoe (The Florida Project) stars as Diego, a talented American filmmaker, whose life is quickly disrupted after being diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. Tempestuous and close to death, Diego marries the beautiful Livia (Maria Fernanda Cândido) before heading to Seattle for life-saving treatments, including receiving a bone marrow transplant.

During treatment Diego meets a young Hindu boy (Rio Adlakha), with whom he plays chess with while sharing stories and future dreams. If he is to survive, Diego must relearn how to live.

The film, whose production team also includes Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor) and composer Zbigniew Preisner (Three Colors trilogy), will have a market screening in Cannes and Rock Salt is also planning to release the film in the U.S. later this year. TriCoast has also re-launched a trailer for the film.