All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane

All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane

Official Production Poster
Directed by Louise Alston
Produced by Louise Alston
Jade van der Lei
Written by Stephen Vagg
Based on play by Stephen Vagg
Starring Charlotte Gregg
Matt Zeremes
Cindy Nelson
Ryan Johnson
Romany Lee
Gyton Grantley
Sarah Kennedy
Music by Caitlin Yeo
Cinematography Judd Overton
Edited by Nicola Scarrott
Distributed by Accent Film
Release dates
 October 2007 (AUS)
Running time
 76 minutes
Country Australia
Language English
Budget A$42,000

All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane is a 2007 Australian romantic comedy film directed by Louise Alston and written by Stephen Vagg. It follows Anthea, a 25-year-old girl who hates her job and has to sit back and watch as all her friends move away from her hometown, Brisbane, to make a better life. In 2013, The Guardian referred to it as a "cult film" inspired by "a typically Brisbane lament... the departure of people in their late 20s to Sydney, Melbourne, London or New York."[1]

Synopsis

Anthea (Charlotte Gregg) is undergoing a crisis of confidence: overworked, no boyfriend, and now all her friends are leaving Brisbane. She is tempted to leave herself, but is opposed by her longtime best platonic male friend Michael (Matt Zeremes).

Michael thinks people who leave Brisbane are copycats who follow the crowd; he is quite happy to stay in Brisbane, he is in a stable job and a stable very low-maintenance "sex-with-the-ex" relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie (Sarah Kennedy). In short, he is in a rut.

Anthea's temptation to leave Brisbane increases with the impending departure of her flatmate Kath (Cindy Nelson). However, she then hears that her ex-boyfriend Jake (Gyton Grantley) is coming back to Brisbane to live. To Michael's annoyance, she dreams of a great future with him.

Michael is then thrown out of his comfort zone by starting a new relationship with a girl he meets at work; Simone (Romany Lee). Slightly "alternative" and good natured, Simone is totally different from the sorts of girls he normally deals with, and he finds himself in a relationship over which he does not have total control.

On her last day in Australia, Anthea and Michael finally resolve their feelings for each other.

Cast

Production

Originally, All My Friends are Leaving Brisbane was a stage performance at the University of Queensland's Cement Box Theatre, where director Louise Alston first saw it. She could see that the story would make an ideal feature film and worked with writer Stephen Vagg on developing a script.

Producer Jade van der Lei then became interested in the film and was able to raise a budget of A$42,000. The film was shot in the middle of a Queensland summer, January 2006, over a three-week period. Afterward, The filmmakers successfully applied for post-production funding from the Australian Film Commission, which enabled additional shooting. The film completed post-production in early 2007 and made its world debut at the 2007 Brisbane International Film Festival.[2]

The film was shot on location in such Brisbane suburbs as New Farm, Paddington, Kangaroo Point, Brookfield, and Toowong. It features such iconic Brisbane landmarks as the Story Bridge and the Royal Exchange Hotel, and refers to Brisbane artists such as Powderfinger, Nick Earls, and John Birmingham. The soundtrack includes a cover version of "Streets of Your Town" from Brisbane band The Go-Betweens by Brisbane singer Dave McCormack.

Release

All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane was released on 27 May 2008 in Australia through Accent Film.[3]

Box office

All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane took $42,524 at the box office in Australia,[4] which is equivalent to $48,135 in 2009 dollars.

Adaptation

Stephen Vagg wrote an adaptation of the original play which relocated the action to Adelaide. Retitled All My Friends Are Leaving Adelaide, it premiered at the 2012 Adelaide Fringe Festival.[5]

Awards

All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane was part of the Official Selection at the Brisbane International Film Festival in 2007. The film received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2008 AFI Awards.[6]

Connection to Jucy

Many of the cast and crew were used by Louise Alston on her next feature film, Jucy (2011), including actors Cindy Nelson, Francesca Gasteen, Ryan Johnson, and Charlotte Gregg.

References

  1. ↑ Luke Royes, "Are all my friends leaving Brisbane?", The Guardian 13 June 2013 accessed 18 June 2013
  2. ↑ Milfull, Tim. "Cinema Interview: All My Friends are Leaving Brisbane". M/C Reviews. Retrieved 9 April 2010. Interview with Louise Alston.
  3. ↑ "All My Friends are Leaving Brisbane". Accent Film. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  4. ↑ Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office
  5. ↑ 'All My Friends Are Leaving Adelaide', Adelaide Theatre Guide
  6. ↑ 2008 AFI Award Nominees

External links