Best Friends Forever

Showings

Camera 3 Cinema Sat, Aug 17, 2013 8:30 PM
Film Info
Director:Brea Grant
Year:2013
Language:English

Description

When first we meet irascible besties Harriet (Brea Grant) and Reba (Vera Miao), the lead characters in Grant’s directorial debut BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, the two are home in L.A., partying like it’s (figuratively) 1999, and getting ready for a road trip to Austin, Texas where Harriet has been accepted into a graduate creative writing program at the UT. Young, badass, and seemingly devil-may-care, the two pile into a 1976 AMC Pacer and embark on a classic road trip in blissful ignorance. But then, this isn’t your classic road trip, and pretty soon, it becomes shockingly apparent that we’re not watching some THELMA AND LOUISE re-tread: as Harriet and Reba put Los Angeles long in their rear-view mirror, a nuclear device obliterates the City of Angels, destroying everything and everyone they value and love. Making their way across the stark Southwest landscape, the two are confronted by the increasingly bizarre and aggressive action of all they encounter, from a menacing band of hipsters to a completely unhinged cowboy. By the time they pull into Austin, Harriet and Reba, unaware of the political and global forces swirling around them, find their friendship falling apart and sorely in need of repair. But it might already be too late: finally realizing the magnitude of the apocalypse now upon them, the two face some hard choices about their lives and their cherished friendship. And there isn’t a lot of time to patch things up… An indie discovery at its premiere at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER is, literally, the product of two comrades-in-arms in real life: actresses Brea Grant (HEROES; FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS; DEXTER) and Vera Miao (CSI: MIAMI; NCIS; BROTHERS & SISTERS) met in an acting class and bonded over a screening of the sci-fi thriller DISTRICT 9, which provided much of the inspiration for this accomplished feature debut. Taking on co-producing and co-screenwriting duties in addition to her role as Reba, Miao provides director Grant, a first-time helmer, with a nervy, restless story that, because of its positioning as a film for the post-911 era, is as topical, real, and gritty as is it undeniably feminist and empowering. We may never know if the world will end for Harriet and Reba. We only know that they, together, are strong enough to face the future as one. -Abraham Ferrer (LA Asian Pacific Film Fest 2013)

Co-presented by Asian Law Alliance, Hyphen, and Japantown Business Association