A real romance filmed over five years. Josephine and Zefrey simmer in the white hot apocalypse of first love until the throw of a dart finds them on a spontaneous trip to the Maldives and cracks open the question - is their love true or just a performance?

Interview with Directors Zefrey Throwell and Josephine Decker

Watch Flames on Prime Video, iTunes and Vudu

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

“Flames” was first inspired by a solo show Zefrey had at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The curators said they were open to seeing anything that he had made recently. We had both been dealing with that complicated moment when your love for someone turns into hard reality -- and after a few fights, we decided we would deal with the complications arising in our relationship by making a short film. We re-enacted an incident that sparked a lot of discord between us, and when the film premiered, the audience responded pretty deeply to the work. “Madonna Mia Violenta” that premiered at MoMA at the end of 2011. Shot and edited in 2 weeks, it was as rough and raw as the subject matter. Some loved it, some were grossed out, some cried, some referred to it as a “sex tape”! Perfect!

Still in love and inspired by the success of the short (we sold two copies!), Zefrey and Josephine decided to keep filming. Deeper and more real were the watchwords. How to get there? How not to end up just another documentary? They decided to re-enact painful events in their lives immediately after they happened. In an aggressive and ill-advised form of art therapy, they soon were filming everything from abortion decisions to strip poker economics and emotional breakdowns. In the blush of first love, the critic is an unwelcome guest and Josephine and Zefrey certainly learned this as their relationship crumbled. Whereas most films would end on this note, they continued to film for 5 long years and uncovered even deeper revelations about who they were as ex-lovers and more importantly, as people.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film? How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

This isn't a film about Josephine and Zefrey falling love. This is a film about the cyclical nature of human romance. We fall head first down the well, believing that THIS IS THE ONE. And lo and behold we are wrong, time and time again. This doesn't cheapen the experience and rarely does it dampen the next TRUE LOVE. It is humanity’s ability to process, forget and move on, that allows life to continue.

Watching others enact this pattern allows the audience to meander down memory lane and ask - Were they the one? As well as look at their partner seated next to them and wonder- Is this the one? Where am I at in this cycle? And of course - Does this shit ever end? We open the window into a very personal experience we had and hope it will resonate with your own.

Flames - Josephine Decker and Zefrey Throwell in Flames (2017).

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

We just kept filming! 5 years and it changed constantly!

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Mostly positive, but there have been a few people who felt it was a bit too intimate! Well, it opens this week so we shall see!

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

We shall see!

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Who knows! Perhaps we could run for president?! It worked for Trump!

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Passionate fans, broken hearted lovers who happen to be buyers, lonely people who are also distributers, and Bernie Sanders!

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

For good or bad, we would like the audience to turn to the person next to them and wonder, “Are they the one?”

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

How much of this is real? What the hell does real mean anyway?

Flames - Josephine Decker and Zefrey Throwell in Flames (2017), play strip poker with 5 different economic models.

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Zefrey is working on a new feature film called Lean, as well as a VR feature in Cuba called “Small Stakes, Big Breaks”, in addition, he is creating the longest choir in history, 10,000 singers stretching over the Alps!

Josephine just completed her first Virtual Reality piece as part of a residency in Berlin's Wolf Kino, and she is completing post on her feature film Madeleine Madeleine. She'll spend this summer leading a session of the artist residency The School of Making Thinking, prepping her next VR short with Executive Producer Kaleidoscope VR and directing a short science-dance documentary as part of Imagine Science's Chimera Experiments.

Interview: April 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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Flames

A Love Story, A Hate Story, A Real Romance

Length:

86 minutes

Director:

Director: Zefrey Throwell, Co-Director: Josephine Decker

Producer:

Michael Melamedoff

Writer:

Zefrey Throwell and Josephine Decker

About the writer, director and producer:

Zefrey Throwell is a NYC based artist who uses film, performance, and painting. Throwell’s projects have been featured in The New York Times, CNN, NPR, Cannes Film Festival and MoMA.

Said to be ushering in a “new grammar of narrative” by The New Yorker, Decker premiered her first two narrative features “Butter on the Latch” and “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely” at the Berlinale 2014 to rave reviews and many awards.

Key cast:

Josephine Decker, Zefrey Throwell, Michael Melamedoff, Hollis Witherspoon, Joe Swanberg, Nadja Frank

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):

Yes

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/flamesthemovie/

Twitter:

@flamesthemovie

Instagram:

@flamesthemovie

Where can I see it in the next month?

Tribeca Film Festival April, 20, 21, 22, 26, 30

Hot Docs, Toronto : April 30, May 1, May 4