FRIENDS AND STRANGERS | FEATURE FILM
EUROPE: In competition, Tiger Award - 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam
US: Official selection - 50th New Directors/New Films, MoMa & Film at Lincoln Center
ASIA: In competition, International selection - Jeonju International Film Festival - Winner, Special Jury Prize
AUSTRALIA: In Competition - Melbourne International Film Festival, Sydney International Film Festival (Runner Up, Audience Award)
SYNOPSIS
A sweaty, frustrated romantic getaway to a strange outback campground.
An escalating series of absurd events in an inner-Sydney harbourside mansion.
An uncomfortable fever dream of contradictory logic and minor characters from earlier in the film, set in the Australian bush.
‘Friends and Strangers’ is a modern feature film about Australia, its topographies, people and systems. It was shot over 30 days across New South Wales, and was directed by James Vaughan (You Like It, I Love It - MIFF, Berlinale).
Format: S35, Cooke Speed Panchros
Runtime: 84 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Writer/Director: James Vaughan
Producers: Lucy Rennick and Rebecca Lamond
Executive Producer: Amiel Courtin-Wilson
Director of Photography: Dimitri Zaunders
Starring: Emma Diaz, Fergus Wilson, Victoria Maxwell
PRESS
ARTICLES + REVIEWS
Sight and Sound - Best Films of 2021
BFI - A Remarkable Debut
New York Times - NYT Critic’s Pick - A funny, productively cryptic Australian feature
Artforum International - The New Weird
Film Comment - Interview
Cinema Scope - Review, Issue 88
Little White Lies - Rotterdam Roundup
The Hollywood Reporter - Rotterdam 2021
Variety - Rotterdam Film Festival Celebrates 50 Years
Criterion - Rotterdam 2021 Phase One
Arts Hub - Euro-success for indie Friends and Strangers
FIPRESCI - International Federation of Film Critics - Review
Sense of Cinema - High art, casual conversation
ABC Radio National - The Screen Show
Filmink - James Vaughan: Making Friends and Strangers
Inside Film - Sydney Film Festival Audience Awards announced
Australian Cinematographer - Issue 91 (Interview)
