Draft:Unfriending (film)

Unfriending is a 2023 Canadian dark comedy film written and directed by the Butler Brothers. The film features an ensemble cast, and takes place over the course of eight hours where the cast tries to convince one of the guests to kill himself.

Plot
The ensemble film revolves around Blake (Sean Meldrum) and his girlfriend, May (Simone Jetsun), hosting a dinner party at Blake's parents home for their closest friends, including Blake's oldest friend, Isaac (Alex Stone). The dinner party is actually a set up for a "life intervention" for Isaac, where the friend group tells him all the reasons he has become a burden to them and society in general, and that he should commit suicide. However, the rest of the friend group has an alternative plan, unbeknownst to Blake (or Isaac), which is to kill him and make it look like suicide.

Release
The film premiered on March 24, 2023 at the Gasparilla Film Festival and was screened at numerous US film festivals, including the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, and the Buffalo International Film Festival. Unfriending had a limited theatrical release in the US, premiering in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Theatres Glendale 5 in Glendale on March 8, 2024.

Awards
The film won Best International Feature, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress at the Cobb International Film Festival before its Canadian Premiere at the Hamilton Film Festival where Unfriending won for Best Screenplay.

Cast

 * Sean Meldrum as Blake
 * Simone Jetsun as May
 * Michael Pearson as Barclay
 * Jenna Vittoria as Radia
 * Rachelle Lauzon as Giselle
 * Honor Spencer as Darby
 * Golden Madison as Lexxi
 * Alex Stone as Isaac