When Sarah accidentally proposes to her girlfriend in Provincetown, she finds hers herself at odds with her partner's expectations of their future. The mixup sends both women on different journeys of marital exploration. Sarah, a documentary filmmaker, begins interviewing same-sex couples in an attempt to overcome her fear of divorce. Kristen, who's ready to tie the knot, sees a future version of her life with Sarah where career and passion threaten to pull the women apart.

Interview with Producer Jess Weiss

Watch The Ring Thing on Prime Video and Vudu

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

We made the film because we asked ourselves why do people get married. Since the federal approval of same-sex marriage, should everyone in a long-term relationship pursue that? We come from different backgrounds, more often than not with divorced parents, so now that we can get married, does it mean that we should? In the film, our protagonist Sarah (played by Sarah Wharton) asks herself that question and, as a filmmaker, starts a documentary interviewing same-sex couples on why they got married, or divorced, or why it's not for them and that helped us understand that this journey is truly different for everyone.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

The film touches on subjects that are relatable to everyone: love, breakups, making a relationship work, losing your job, and finding yourself. I think the movie tells a very honest story and has so much heart, that I would recommend it to anyone. What has been most fascinating about our festival year, has been the audience and how involved they were with the film. The discussions after our film were always enlightening.

The Ring Thing - Is love enough to keep a relationship together?

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

The film is definitely very personal! It's based on a true story, between the director Will Sullivan and his husband Derek Dodge, and you can't get more personal than dealing with the combination of love and work, and simply figuring how to grow up between the two.

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

The script was actually improvised. We had a very strong outline and from that our director worked with our actors to establish the dialogue. There were takes that were completely different from each other! Our documentary footage was incredible as well and we could have done a whole movie just with those interviews. On top of that, we also ended up using some footage from our additional camera shot by Matt Connolly, who plays Gary, which added some really great elements.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

The feedback has been really great! We've been approached by the audience, because they were touched by the movie, wanted to share their personal stories and discuss the characters. We also have an ending open to interpretation, and they're often curious to express their thoughts on it.

The Ring Thing - What happens if you accidentally propose?

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

A lot of both actually! We premiered the movie in Canada, for example, and in the film there is a plot line that discusses getting married for health insurance. It was interesting to see that this would never happen there, because they simply have universal health care.

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

We release our film on April 10 and we want to spread the word! It will be available on iTunes and Amazon and we're grateful for platforms like We Are Moving Stories for helping us share our behind the scenes story and for believing in our film!

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

Viewers :) We'd love to get everyone watching it and asking themselves all the questions we've put out there!

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

We'd love to continue this discussion on marriage and relationships! At the same time, we sincerely hope that the right to same-sex marriage continues to be an undeniable privilege. We hope to help with that, always bringing up those questions.

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

Have you ever thought about getting married?

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Well, I just produced a psychological thriller called "The Honeymoon Phase", about a newlywed couple stuck in a futuristic house as part of a research. Is this what happens after one gets married? :) Sarah Wharton, our lead and producer, also produced another feature called "Bite Me", a vampire love story mingled with the IRS! And Will Sullivan and Derek Dodge just finished the documentary "Hurley", about American racing legend Hurley Haywood speaking for the first time about being gay in the 1970's macho world of motor sports. So keep your eyes out for our movies in festivals soon!

Interview: March 2018

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. 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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The Ring Thing

When Sarah accidentally proposes to her girlfriend in Provincetown, she finds hers herself at odds with her partner's expectations of their future. The mixup sends both women on different journeys of marital exploration. Sarah, a documentary filmmaker, begins interviewing same-sexcouples in an attempt to overcome her fear of divorce. Kristen, who's ready to tie the knot, sees a future version of her life with Sarah where career and passion threaten to pull the women apart.

Length: 106min

Director: Will Sullivan

Producer: Jess Weiss, Sarah Wharton

Writer: Will Sullivan, Derek Dodge

Key cast: Sarah Wharton, Nicole Pursell, Matt Connolly, Cheryl Pickett

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

Social media handles:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theringthingmovie/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_ring_thing

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theringthingmovie/

Other: www.theringthingmovie.com

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?