Cannes Short Film Corner - Poly Love
Poly Love takes a look inside polyamorous relationships by narrating a love story where exclusivity is not the rule.
Interview with Director Michelle A. Flores
Watch Poly Love on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Poly Love was born out of curiosity. I found myself in a reality that I had never heard of. Coming from a conservative and even religious country, Ecuador, the idea of polyamory was something beyond strange to me. I always say that the stories find you and not the other way around. I was looking for a subject matter for my new documentary and I suddenly found this weird (for me at the time) concept. And through that I met great people who were open to share their stories with me.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
What makes Poly Love unique is that it is told from a universal point of view. I invite people to watch a beautiful love story that touches the core of what we as human beings look for when we desire a partner.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The universality of love and family is the core of Poly and it goes down to the particularity of how diverse both can be. Here we have a family that is facing issues such as illness of one of their children and financial struggle. But they face it as a family, always defending their choice of being polyamorous.
How has the script and film evolved over the course of its development and production?
The changes from the first idea to the final result have been huge. At the beginning, the film was supposed to be about polyamory in general, following lifestyles of three families. But due to circumstances we lost contact with one of these families. At that point I realized that a powerful story can't be told by generalizing. A powerful story is told through one character that is strong and compelling enough to make the audience relate with the situation. I decided that my short film was about love and family in polyamory and not the other way around, so I stuck with just one family.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been great. I can't thank enough the Poly community who saw in Poly Love a story that depicts them the way they are, without sensationalism or stereotypes, but as normal, common people that decided to love more than one person.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The story challenged my point of view in a good way. It opened my mind and increased my respect for people. It taught me a lot. The feedback surprised me because I never though that I would have such a great response and that as a poly community outsider I could make them feel so well-portrayed.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I want more people to go through the realization that I went through with this movie. That is understanding that love comes in all shapes and forms, and it is the most beautiful thing we as humans have.
Who do you need to come on board to amplify this film’s message?
I would like to get to festivals as a director and a journalist. I think the media should be talking more about the non orthodox ways of loving and establishing families.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
As a director you want your film to have the biggest impact possible and to be received by many in the best way. What I want for Poly is not less than that, but mainly I want whoever watches it to understand the core message of it.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Why do we care so much about the way people form their families or love? When all we should care about is whether we are loving enough.
Would you like to add anything else?
Just that there are dozens of docs and movies that talk about polyamory but there are a few that talk about Love in a polyamorous family.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Right now I am producing a sitcom in my home country Ecuador and I’m also doing some producing and directing as a freelancer for national and international networks. My producer Kseniya Yorsh has been working on a dozen short and feature films in L.A.
Interview: January 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Poly Love
Poly Love takes a look inside polyamorous relationships by narrating a love story where exclusivity is not the rule.
Length: 28 min.
Director: Michelle Flores.
Producer: Kseniya Yorsh.
About the director: Michelle Flores in an Ecuadorian director who came to documentary filmmaking from a career as a journalist. Her films tackle social issues, interpersonal matters, and human conditions. She approaches her subjects with empathy and compassion and depicts them in a humane and poetic way.
Looking for: Poly Love is looking for distributors, festivals and is ultimately seeking to spread the word about alternative lifestyles and their acceptance.
Funders: Poly Love was funded by the means of crowdfunding and private investors, among them the Black and Poly community of San Francisco.
Release date: January 21st 2016.