Short Films in Focus: Go Ahead, Grab Time by the Throat

Has your ex-boyfriend seen the film? If so, what was his reaction to it?

AP: James has been incredibly generous in giving us permission and helping us make it. He has seen the film and called it “beautiful.” It took a long time for him to watch it, and we really haven’t had too much conversation around it because … awkward, much? Can you ask him what he really thinks about it for me? I am curious.

This is obviously an incredibly personal piece of work. Was there ever a fear of revealing too much?

CC: In the early days of writing, I remember Abby texting me “I’m getting fully naked! In all the ways! hahahah” and I thought “oh boy.”

AP: Yes. I was afraid then, I am afraid now, and everybody else was/is afraid for me. But, we’ll all be dead someday. May as well pull on the string of inspiration while I have the energy for it. It’s not a graceful philosophy, but it’s enough permission for me to keep making vulnerable work. “Oh boy” indeed.

I will say, I received very smart and thoughtful notes on the film from trusted, talented male filmmakers recommending me to “pull back” which may have propelled me further in the opposite direction.

The ending (which I’m not giving away) is such a bold choice and says so much about how we document our lives through acting and reenacting. How did you arrive at the decision to end it this way?

AP: We were already experimenting with the meta nature of using ourselves as subjects, so we figured why not drive the themes home with one last gesture of transparency between the creators and the viewers?

CC: The *very* last moment, right before we hit the credits, was something we discovered while editing the film—I just loved it and thought it was the perfect ending. But the choice to include that iPhone “reveal” was actually in the very first outline Abby made. We knew the film was inherently about the need to record ourselves, watch ourselves … the attempt to hold onto fleeting moments. So much was changing in both of our lives. We wanted to grab time by the throat.

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