by FIlmInk Staff
The $13,000 rom com that could
The new Australian romantic comedy, All My Friends Are Back in Brisbane, looks like sticking around Brisbane for a little while longer as it’s been given an extended cinema release.
Originally, the film was given three sessions at Five Star Cinemas New Farm, a cinema within a few hundred metres of where the bulk of the movie was shot.
Response has been so enthusiastic – all three sessions sold out – that the cinema has expanded the run. Screenings have also been arranged in Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne and Los Angeles (where the film is playing as part of the Burbank International Film Festival). This is on top of the film’s sell-out world premiere at the Gold Coast Film Festival on 1 May.
“It’s very exciting,” said director Louise Alston. “You make movies to watch them in a packed cinema full of people laughing and gasping, and it’s been a thrill to experience that.”
Alston and her partner, Stephen Vagg, who wrote the script, are appearing at every screening, doing Q&As and introducing the movie.
“We saw how well that worked on other Aussie movies such as The Correspondent and The Way, My Way and we are copying that, basically,” she laughs. “We want to give audiences the best value for their money so we’re turning it into a part-live show.”
All My Friends Are Back in Brisbane is a romantic comedy about a lawyer, Cris (Nelle Lee), who returns home to Brisbane single, after a decade in London. She finds herself working alongside her ex-boyfriend, Scooter (Andrew Steel), who is now married with a child.
It is the spiritual sequel to the 2007 cult hit All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane, which enjoyed a two-month theatrical run in Brisbane cinemas (and a cinema release in Denmark) before a successful life on DVD and streaming.
“We have no idea how All My Friends Are Back in Brisbane will do or where it will take us,” says Alston. “It’s a challenging environment. But we’re going to work as hard as we can to get the film out there and showcase the fantastic work of the cast and crew as much as possible.”
All My Friends Are Back in Brisbane’s current session times are:
Five Star Cinemas New Farm, Brisbane – through June https://www.fivestarcinemas.com.au/new-farm/movie/all-my-friends-are-back-in-brisbane
Randwick Ritz, Sydney – June 18 https://www.ritzcinemas.com.au/movies/all-my-friends-are-back-in-brisbane
Tower Cinema, Newcastle – June 20 https://www.fivestarcinemas.com.au/newcastle/movie/all-my-friends-are-back-in-brisbane
Lido Cinema, Melbourne – July 9 https://www.lidocinemas.com.au/movies/all-my-friends-are-back-in-brisbane
Burbank International Film Festival, Los Angeles – August https://www.burbankfilmfest.org/
