Podtalk: Brett & Jason Butler on Their Film ‘Unfriending’

Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 26, 2023 - 11:20am

CHICAGO – Currently touring the film festival circuit, the new film “Unfriending” … by writer/director/brothers Brett and Jason Butler … is a pitch black comedy on our weirdly filtered world today. The Canadian filmmakers are veterans of five features, and have been building their reputations since the mid-2000s.

The film centers on Blake (Sean Meldrum) and his girlfriend May (Simone Jetsun), as they host a dinner party 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 really just kill himself already. This black comedy is a razor sharp satire on cancel culture and the current me generation in general.

'Unfriending,' Written and Directed by Brett & Jason Butler
Photo credit: Substance Production

The film is screening right now at the (click links for more info) Vermont Film Festival and Fort Smith International Film Festival. Upcoming it will be at the Victory International Film Festival and the Silicon Beach Film Festival.

Brett and Jason Butler, the Butler Brothers, are writer/director/producers based out of Toronto, creating original content under their Substance Production, their boutique studio banne. As award-winning independent filmmakers, their film “First Round Down,” landed in the Top Five for Canadian box office during its opening week. They have just wrapped principal photography on their next feature, “Thanks For the Room.”

In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Brett and Jason Butler (Jason speaks first) reflect on background issues surrounding “Unfriending” …

In a video clip, the Butler Brothers distill their unique style …

Trailer, “Unfriending” …

”Unfriending” is currently on the film festival circuit. Featuring Sean Meldrum, Simone Jetsun, Michael Pearson, Jenna Vittoria, Rachelle Laouzon, Honor Spencer, Golden Madison and Alex Stone. Written and directed by Brett and Jason Butler. Not Rated.