EXCLUSIVE: Helena Howard (Madeline’s Madeline), Bella Thorne (Divinity), Zión Moreno (Gossip Girl), Chloe Cherry (Euphoria) and Sophia Ali (Uncharted) have wrapped production on Find Your Friends, a thriller marking the feature directorial debut of actor-filmmaker Izabel Pakzad.
Others to appear in the film include Chris Bauer (The Wire), Jake Manley (The Order), Israel Broussard (Happy Death Day), Harrison Sloan Gilbertson (Oppenheimer), and Blaine Kern III (Accused).
Izabel Pakzad
Mike Morelli
Written by Pakzad, Find Your Friends watches as Amber and her four best girlfriends take a trip to escape the L.A. bubble and cut loose in Joshua Tree for the weekend. But upon arrival, they quickly realize the locals don’t want them there. As the hostile environment escalates, our girls are disparaged by their aggressive neighbor, dismissed by the cops, and, it seems, even being stalked by some local men. But as her friends uncover Amber’s past trauma, they become fed up with inescapable toxic masculinity and little do they know, their fun trip will turn into one of revenge.
Prior to Find Your Friends, Pakzad wrote, directed and starred in Don’t Worry, It’s Gonna Be Ok, a proof-of-concept short based on her original screenplay, which won Best Short at the LA Film Festival and played a number of others. Welcome To Italy S.R.L. produced the feature in association with WWPS.TV, Walters Media Group and Angry Cloud. Producers are Allison Friedman, Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi, Gary Michael Walters and Luca Matrundola. Thorne serves as exec producer. CAA is handling domestic sales, with Fortitude overseeing international.
“Making this film has been a dream come true,” Pakzad told Deadline. “6 years ago, something crazy happened to me in the desert…so I decided to write a script and make a movie about it. I’m so grateful for my amazing team of producers, cast, and crew for helping me bring this story to life.”
Breaking out with her starring role in Josephine Decker’s Madeline’s Madeline, Howard will next be seen in Jane Schoenbrun’s acclaimed A24 pic I Saw the TV Glow. Previously, she’s also been seen starring in Prime Video’s The Wilds, among other projects.
Starring opposite Stephen Dorff in Eddie Alcazar’s Sundance sci-fi thriller Divinity, Thorne will next be seen in Adam Sigal’s fantastical drama The Tower, Tony Kaye’s The Trainer, and the thriller Saint Clare.
Next to be seen in Hulu’s Prom Dates, out May 3, Moreno has previously held roles on the shows Gossip Girl, Claws, and Control Z.
Cherry broke out with her role as Faye in Euphoria Season 2 and will next be seen in projects like the genre-bending feature http://www.RachelOrmont.com.
In addition to shows like The Wilds, Grey’s Anatomy and Chicago Med, Ali has starred in Uncharted, Truth or Dare and other films.
Howard is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; Thorne by CAA, Thirty Three Management, and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum; Moreno by Gersh, Vision Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Cherry by Gersh, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Felker Toczek Suddleson; Ali by Innovative Artists, Amplified, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; and Pakzad by Black Bear and Untitled Entertainment.