I’ve been making films for most of my life. I am really proud of my first feature film. It came about out of pure determination and sheer will. We made this film using what we had—the people we could find, the free locations we could shoot at, and the favours we could pull.
Throughout my career, I’ve been imagining inventive solutions to limiting situations. My short film Peeps (2019) was shot guerrilla-style in a shopping centre on a budget of 4,000 AUD, and ended up being selected by Gregory Nava for Telluride Film Festival, as well as many other film festivals worldwide. For a long time now, I’ve been developing a formula for funny, original, inventive, and heartfelt storytelling that embraces the real world as part of the aesthetic.
Fwends elucidates the complexity of modern female friendships in a way I haven’t seen before. It comes from a unique perspective—from my little corner of Australia—and speaks authentically about our pathological inability to admit that we so badly need each other. We’re always hearing about how loneliness is an epidemic these days, especially among young people, and I feel that the constant pressure to make money and succeed smothers and obfuscates our ability to listen to our human needs. It’s easy to feel like the world is crushing you and that you have to make it on your own. It’s much harder to admit that you just need to see your friends.
I see actors as so much more than talking puppets. They are my co-collaborators who challenge me to give my characters the depth and humanity they deserve. One of the reasons I keep going back to making films is my obsession with the craft of acting, and how I keep wanting to go deeper and deeper into my study of humans. Actors humble me. They are some of the bravest people in the world.
The stylistic choices in the film came about as a result of my interest in creating situations for people to be as honest and as human as they could be within the confines of the story. It was a terrifying thing to commit to such long takes, but it was such a humbling experience to watch Emmanuelle Mattana and Melissa Gan rise to the challenge with such finesse and courage. I am still in awe of them both.
I believe that it’s essential that we tell stories that allow us to see super ordinary people who look a lot like us. It’s a way to interrogate ourselves with an unflinching, playful, and sceptical eye. There is so much healing and catharsis to be found in just being honest about how scared, wounded, chaotic, and funny we are.
My main intention in making Fwends was to find a way to show two real people, and the very real world, in all its splendiferous messiness. I think the mess is sort of beautiful.