Extravagant Ways To Say Goodbye

During a time of rapid technological growth, online personas and a call for ecological heroism, Sam finds herself nearing her 25th birthday and has adopted what seems to be a fear surrounding the topic of death. An inordinate somewhat existential fear surrounding her own death, the death of those around her and perhaps even the implosion of the world itself. Plagued by this anxiety, Sam slowly starts backing away from life, putting off her goal of pursuing a career in children's books, relying on the financial stability of her exploitative au pair job. With the sudden return of her mother's cancer, her world begins to unravel. Despite the burgeoning sense of instability Sam tries to live a seemingly normal life by going on dates, attending friends' baby-showers, work interviews and maintaining her responsibilities as an au pair. Extravagant Ways To Say Goodbye is a comical look at a young woman in the 21st century and how she navigates grief and a kaleidoscope of dysfunctional relationships as she forges her way forward.


- The Feature length Tragicomedy first took shape at Durban Talents 2020, in cooperation with Berlinale Talents, where the initial concept was developed. From there, we were awarded a scholarship to the Sundance Script Revision Lab, followed by participation in the Visual Directing Lab—both crucial in refining the script and directorial vision.

In 2022, the film was selected for JETS—Junior Entertainment Slate in Berlin, where it gained valuable industry feedback. The following year, we continued our journey at Pavillon Afriques at the Cannes Film Festival, expanding our international network.

At the end of 2023, after three years of pitching and applications, we finally secured production funding. We shot the film in Cape Town, South Africa, during July and August 2024, capturing a high-quality visual and narrative result that we are incredibly proud of.

Production Company: Free Women Films
Executive Producer: Carolyn Carew