All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane

All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane is a 2007 Australian romantic comedy film directed by Louise Alston and written by Stephen Vagg. It follows Anthea, a 25-year-old girl who hates her job and has to sit back and watch as all her friends move away from her hometown, Brisbane, to make a better life. In 2013, The Guardian referred to it as a "cult film" inspired by "a typically Brisbane lament... the departure of people in their late 20s to Sydney, Melbourne, London or New York." Plot Anthea (Charlotte Gregg) is undergoing a crisis of confidence: overworked, no boyfriend, and now all her friends are leaving Brisbane. She is tempted to leave herself, but is opposed by her longtime best platonic male friend Michael (Matt Zeremes). Michael thinks people who leave Brisbane are copycats who follow the crowd; he is quite happy to stay in Brisbane, he is in a stable job and a stable very low-maintenance "sex-with-the-ex" relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie (Sarah Kennedy). In short, he is in a rut. Anthea's temptation to leave Brisbane increases with the impending departure of her flatmate Kath (Cindy Nelson). However, she then hears that her ex-boyfriend Jake (Gyton Grantley) is coming back to Brisbane to live. To Michael's annoyance, she dreams of a great future with him.