BFF Goals: 6 Films To Watch With Your Friends This Friendship Day

While Friendship Day might be a fairly recent add-on to a social calendar filled with older holidays, one can’t deny the power friendship has over a person. Friends are everything to us- they’re our biggest cheerleaders at our best moments, and they’re present with the tissues when we cry. 

Friendship is a unique human experience, and the concept and experience of friendship have become the focus of many films. Female friendships, in particular, have become the subject of renewed attention in recent years, due to the historical underrepresentation of female characters and the misrepresentation of female friendships in older movies. As we get closer to Friendship Day, here are five movies that take a close look at female friendships that you should watch with your BFFs! Fair warning though- keep the tissues ready. 

6 Films To Watch With Your Friends This Friendship Day

1. Barbie

Greta Gerwig’s recent hit Barbie, starring Margot Robbie in the titular role, is a movie that focuses on female friendships and offers us a poignant view into the experience of girlhood and growing up. We won’t put too many spoilers here, but one thing we will say: the ‘Barbie’ movie soundtrack is absolutely perfect, and encapsulates the experience of friendship. If you’re still reading this, it’s time to take a break, call your gals, and run to the cinema hall to watch the movie while it’s still playing! Check out the trailer below-

2. Axone

2019’s Axone is an amazing film about how far friends will go for each other. Set in Delhi, the story follows Upasana (played by Sayani Gupta), Chanbi (played by Lin Laishram), Zorem (played by Tenzin Dalha), and Minam (played by Asenla Jamir), and their friends in their quest to cook ‘Axone’, a special dish from Northeast India in honour of Minam’s upcoming wedding. Filled with comedy and moments that’ll make the viewer tear up, Axone offers us an insightful view into Indian society, and how it treats those from the Northeast. It’s an amazing film on the close ties of friendship, which makes it an awesome addition to a Friendship Day binge! Here's the trailer-

3. Queen 

Directed by Vikas Bahl and produced by Anurag Kashyap, 2014’s Queen shows us how female friendships can be empowering. Starring Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, and Lisa Haydon in lead roles, the movie follows Rani (played by Ranaut), as she goes to Europe for her honeymoon, even though her marriage has been called off by her fiancée, Vijay (played by Rao). Rani’s new friendships in the film, in particular the one she shares with Vijaylakshmi (played by Haydon), push her to become more confident, both internally and externally and are a positive influence on her growth as a character. If you haven’t seen Queen in a while (or ever), now’s the time to watch it! Here's the trailer-

4. Unpregnant

Starring Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira, 2020’s Unpregnant focuses on seventeen-year-old Veronica (played by Richardson), who finds out she’s pregnant. When she realizes that she has no support and cannot get an abortion in her home state, she enlists the help of former best friend Bailey (played by Ferreira) to go on a road trip to another state to get one. Many of the film's themes deal with societal perceptions of female sexuality, the female body, and abortion, but the film’s main story follows the rekindling of a friendship, and how, even though you may have drifted apart, some friends will always have your back. Check out the trailer below-

5. The Joy Luck Club

This film is an oldie (and may not have a proper trailer), but it’s a goodie! 1993’s The Joy Luck Club is based on Amy Tan’s famous book of the same name. It follows the lives of 4 Chinese immigrant women as they rebuild their lives in America with their traditions close to their heart, and their Chinese-American daughters. Though the film focuses on the relationships shared between each mother-daughter pair, an important theme running throughout the film is that of friendship, especially the one the mothers share in creating the ‘Joy Luck Club’ to play mahjong. If your mother is your best friend, then this movie might just be for you!

6. The Holiday

The Holiday tells the story of Iris and Amanda, two women who exchange homes for the Christmas season to get away from their romantic problems. During their stay, each woman encounters new people and develops surprising relationships. Iris bonds with a charismatic and clever writer named Miles, while Amanda grows close to Iris's brother, Graham. The film highlights how friendship and love can bring about personal transformation during the holiday season.