Fwends

Directed by Sophie Somerville
Australia
2024
92 mins

Synopsis

Two besties reunite over a weekend in Melbourne in this freewheeling, fast-talking buddy comedy about modern female friendship. A buoyant, Berlinale prize winning feature debut.

Taking a breather from her Sydney lawyer job, Em heads to Melbourne to reconnect with her old friend Jessie for the weekend. Where Jessie's head is in the clouds, Em is decidedly more level-headed. From the city to the inner north, the two twentysomethings walk and talk, bonding over office horror stories, breakups and existential crises. Long takes and meaty monologues lend a distinct vulnerability to this tale of modern female friendship from two-time Dendy Award-winning filmmaker Sophie Somerville (for Peeps, SFF 2021, and linda 4 eva, SFF 2023). Fwends, her feature debut and winner of the Berlinale Forum’s Caligari Film Prize for innovation, is a prickly and perceptive slice of mumblecore, Australian style.

At a breathtaking pace, the improvised conversations draw us into a maelstrom of single-mindedness and disorientation, climate change and mental health, nihilism and clown costumes. And all within the space of an overnight visit.
Jury statement, Caligari Film Prize
  • Year
    2024
  • Classification
    Unclassified 15+
  • Country
    Australia
  • Language
    In English and French with English subtitles
  • Director
    Sophie Somerville
  • Producer
    Sophie Somerville, Carter Looker, Sarah Hegge-Taylor
  • Cast
    Melissa Gan, Emmanuelle Mattana
  • Screenwriter
    Sophie Somerville, Emmanuelle Mattana, Melissa Gan
  • Cinematographer
    Carter Looker
  • Editor
    Sophie Somerville
  • Genre
    Award Winner, Women Directors, Australian, Women’s Stories
  • Premiere
    Australian Premiere
  • Company Credits
    Production Company: Excellent Friends & Future Success! Pty Ltd
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Sydney Film festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

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