“Find your friends”, interview with director Isabel Pakzad

After having its world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival, actress and producer Isabel Pakzad’s directorial debut, Find your friends has been presented to the italian audience, at the 43rd Torino Film Festival.

The film, inspired by real events happened to Pakzad during her college years, tells the story of a group of 5 friends on their girls-trip getaway to Joshua Tree, increasingly “disturbed” by  strange encounters with insidious men.

A story rooted in a real life experience

“I had the idea to write a thriller set in Joshua Tree after my own real-life experience of being harassed and then chased by a group of men when I was there with my best friends” confesses Pakzad who has been working on Find your friends for a long time before having the chance to direct it and produce it.

The film was her way to process what had happened and how, for the first time in her life, she had to confront how exposed she was as a woman in certain situations.

In the press conference at the Torino Film Festival she said she felt in danger for simply being a woman.

The dark hole of party culture

Find your friends, admits Pakzad  “it’s a commentary on this party, frat culture that raised these girls” and that raised her as well. Through this cinematic experience, Pakzad explores the dark hole of party culture and goes back to that time in her life to reflect on it and process it.

Set against the backdrop of American party culture, Find Your Friends processes the transition from youthful college antics to adult self-awareness. Pakzad openly shares how making the film offered a therapeutic lens to examine her past, especially the patterns and rituals formed during that time. It’s a story about growth, understanding oneself beyond the college bubble, and realizing how personal perceptions can shift over time.

The intricacies of female friendships

Find Your Friends stands out as a film that examines the intricacies and messiness of female friendships. The title itself hints at the search for connection in a landscape where understanding and communication can often be elusive.

The film portrays women who are bold, outspoken, and unfiltered—traits rarely celebrated without consequence in traditional narratives. This realistic portrayal challenges stereotypes and celebrates the good, bad, and ugly aspects of friendship, revealing the deeper struggles of being heard and understood.

The inspiration for Find Your Friends draws heavily from personal experiences and a desire to reshape genre conventions. Isabel Pakzad was motivated to tell a story that reflects real-life challenges, especially the difficulty some characters face when opening up about trauma or vulnerability. This authentic approach adds depth to the film, making it resonate with audiences looking for honest depictions of female empowerment and emotional complexity.

Find Your Friends emphasizes that friendship and personal trauma are not always easy to navigate, even among those we trust. Characters like Amber (Helena Howard) exemplify the difficulty of sharing vulnerable experiences, highlighting a universal challenge in connecting deeply with others. This nuanced storytelling underscores the importance of empathy and the ongoing search for honesty in our relationships, making the film a compelling reflection on finding oneself and one’s place in a complex social landscape.

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