Hostage Thriller ‘Last Call’ Picked Up by Picture Tree Ahead of EFM Launch as Teaser Debuts (EXCLUSIVE)

Picture Tree Intl. has boarded international sales on “Last Call,” a real-time hostage thriller from Tanweer Productions, inspired by true events, and set to launch to international buyers ahead of the European Film Market, including market premiere screenings. The teaser debuts here.

Directed by Greek-Egyptian filmmaker Sherif Francis, “Last Call” unfolds on New Year’s Eve 1999 in Athens, where a desperate fugitive armed with a live grenade takes a family hostage and demands to go live on television as the world counts down to the new millennium. Broadcast live in real time, the situation pulls in a young journalist, media executives and a divided police force, as an entire nation watches events spiral toward a tragic and irreversible outcome.

“The film interrogates the intersection of media influence, power dynamics and institutional failure — themes that resonate globally beyond the story’s original setting,” according to a statement.

Francis co-wrote the script with Greek screenwriter Katerina Bei.

“With ‘Last Call,’ I wanted audiences to feel the same immediacy and uncertainty I felt watching the real event unfold as a child — no preparation, no escape, just the unpredictable pace of real time,” Francis explained.

The ensemble cast is led by Orfeas Avgoustidis (“Card Postale,” “The Other Me”), Maria Nafpliotou (“Café 404,” “Card Postale”), Yorgos Benos (“Maestro in Blue”), and Dimitris Lalos (“Chlorine,” “Pack of Sheep”).

Produced by Dionyssis Samiotis for Tanweer Productions, “Last Call” originated from the company’s “Tanweer Pitching Days” initiative, where it emerged from more than 300 submissions.

“ ‘Last Call’ immediately stood out to us for its gripping real-time structure, its true-event hook and its international marketability,” said Andreas Rothbauer, founder and managing partner at Picture Tree Intl.. “It’s the kind of elevated European thriller that can travel strongly across theatrical and premium platforms, and we are very pleased to bring it to the global market.”

Domestic theatrical release in Greece and Cyprus will be managed by Tanweer Alliances, targeting a nationwide rollout with over 80 screens on March 19.

“Last Call” is produced by Tanweer Productions, in co-production with ERT, the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Centre – Creative Greece, NOVA and View Master Films, with the support of EKKOMED.