Fwends

Estranged mates get lost in Melbourne and fall back in love with one another in this lilting indie ode to the city and slacker cinema.

Mustangs FC star Emmanuelle Mattana is Em, a young lawyer who can barely afford her rent, let alone buy an apartment in Sydney. On a whim, she scoots south by train to the Victorian capital for a spur-of-the-moment weekend away. Staying with former bestie Jessie (Melissa Gan), Em quickly realises that reconnecting isn’t easy: the twentysomething pair butt up against one another as life’s ups and downs tumble out and they wander from lost coffee shops to playground drug pick-ups, hopefully rediscovering whatever the hell it was that brought them together in the first place.

Debuting at Berlinale, Accelerator Lab alum Sophie Somerville’s (linda 4 eva, MIFF 2023) largely improvised Caligari Film Award winner makes its Victorian premiere at MIFF, as is right and proper for any film so indebted to the city’s bluestone-cobbled laneways. Melbourne and its hidden-in-plain-sight landmarks are brought to life in this full-of-feels feature debut – a paean to young-adult friendship that’s a must-watch for anyone who loves the city, or might have lived here just a little too long.

“Funny, raw and consistently sharp … What makes Fwends truly stand out is its ability to honestly capture the bittersweet reality of growing apart.” – Journey Into Cinema