Friends But Not Friends (Music Video)

Flo Olavarria

A close-up of a young man and woman about to kiss, with text indicating the film's title, director, and credits.

16 CREW  |  2 CAST  |  2 Day Shoot

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Flo & I bonded over our shared love of romance books and romantic comedies. She told me she had written a ‘friends to lovers’ song earlier in 2025, called 'Friends But Not Friends'. Within hours of our first coffee chat, the song was in my inbox — and a concept was already forming in my head.

I wanted to make a RomCom music video: a concise love story told in just three minutes, with the warmth, humour and nostalgia of the romantic comedies we grew up watching, whilst still standing on its own as a complete story.

The title and lyrics tell the story of a ‘friends to lovers’ relationship from Flo’s perspective, after the relationship has already developed into something more. For the video, I wanted to explore the story that came before that realisation — the moments, missed opportunities and almost-confessions that eventually lead them there.

Rather than simply illustrating Flo’s perspective, I wanted to really include his. What was he thinking? Had he been feeling the same thing all along? And how many moments between them had been quietly building towards the inevitable?

The result is a story that moves through the comfort and chaos of friendship, the awkwardness of realising something has changed, and all those little moments where two people are perhaps the only ones who don’t realise what everyone else can already see, and the choice to be brave enough to risk the friendship.

And, because we clearly couldn’t make a romantic comedy without paying homage to the ones that inspired us, the video is packed with references. We’ll have to play a game someday to see just how many we managed to sneak in, but on last count, it was just under 30.

You might recognise nods to 13 Going on 30, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Notebook, When Harry Met Sally, Freaky Friday, Bridget Jones’s Diary and plenty more.

For me, the joy of a great RomCom is that you know where it’s going — and you want to go there anyway. Friends But Not Friends is our love letter to that feeling.

A young man and woman walking together at night in a park, illuminated by streetlights, with the woman listening to music on her phone.
A man and woman are about to kiss outdoors, with a city skyline in the background.
A young man with brown hair resting his face on his hand and looking at a woman in a vehicle at night.
Woman singing into a microphone at a dimly lit venue with string lights in the background.
A woman and a man standing facing each other on a suburban street behind a black BMW with a license plate reading 'FBNF 826'.
Young man and young woman sleeping in separate beds, side by side, in different lighting conditions
Close-up of a hand gripping another person's hand in a dark setting with bokeh lights in the background.
Close-up of a woman outdoors with a worried expression, wearing a blue denim shirt and a pearl necklace, with trees in the background.
A woman in red pajamas with white dog prints sitting on a bed surrounded by pillows, reading a magazine, with a guitar and a stack of books nearby, in a sunlit room with shelves and plants in the background.
A young man with curly hair and a striped shirt sitting at a table with a young girl with brown hair and a striped shirt, both focused on a laptop, in a cozy setting with warm lighting.
Group of people talking outdoors at dusk with a city skyline in the background.
A woman with a playful expression sticking out her tongue, wearing a pink and brown patterned jacket and a necklace with colorful beads, standing near a pink door with a blue wall next to it.
A young man playing the keyboard in a dimly lit room decorated with string lights and a drum set in the background. A woman stands in the background near a pink-lit shelf, talking on her phone.

Credits

Contribution: Written, Directed & Produced

Production Companies:

GoodBadMad & Milkcrate Collective

Producer: Musa Fawaghere

Director of Photography: Pablo Balboa

Editor: Pablo Balboa

Production Designer: Jay Nuñez-Cauich

Hair & Make Up: Chelsea McNamara & Cassey Hui

1st AD: Mario Aguilera

Gaffer: Niklas Metcalfe

Gaffer: Nathaniel Min

Grip: Hosa Baktash

1st AC: Karla Rodriguez Puente

1st AC: Felipe Da Costa

Colourist: Pablo Balboa

Photographer: Juampa 'J.P.' Galarza

Costume Design: Flo Olavarria & Carolina Godoy

Production Assistants:

Amna Alvi

Lilja Kuohula

Starring:

Flo Olavarria & Blake Phillips

The Band: Max Kaiser & Devon Goping