Documentaries by their nature are often topical. What can make them even more timely are the unexpected twists their stories can take while filmming, or in the case of DIVORCING GOD after initial filming has stopped. The original plan was to follow a young Christian couple, who adhered to the tenants of their faith, from engagement to nuptials. Little did the filmmakers know that 6 months later that they'd be back to also capture the dissolution of that same marriage.
DIVORCING GOD
Maggie Sargent - Co-Director, Producer
If you could describe your film using only 3 words, what would they be?
God, why marriage?
Is there a character or subject in your film you most identify with? Would you switch places with them just for a day?
The film is partially based on my overall experience with church, marriage, and divorce. There are elements of both main characters that I identify with, and no, I would not want to switch places with them. Been there, done that - and it's not a fun place to be.
What's the one thing about your film you're most proud of?
We captured a very intimate story of one couple's journey through love, marriage, and disillusionment at exactly the right time needed in order to generate a larger discussion about Christian ideals and expectations placed on today's young people.
When you first screened your film, was there a moment, scene or character the audience reacted to, that surprised you?
At a pre-sreening of Divorcing God, many of the main character's Christian family and friends showed up. The discussion afterwards included both religious and non-religious perspectives - each with a completely different take on the film. We wondered if we had all just watched the same movie. It made for lively discussion afterwards, which was our whole point in making the film.
What do you want audiences to take away from your film?
I want the audience to take a good hard look at what the Christian church is teaching young people about marriage and divorce and see if it matches up to what their heart is telling them.
Who are the directors, filmmakers and artists that most influenced your film or yourself?
I like intimate story-driven documentaries that are objective and don't push a point of view on the audience. Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing's "12th & Delaware" about the pro-life/pro-choice conflict did this. It was one of 16 films I saw at Sundance this year, where some of the best documentaries in the world premiered.
I believe in putting the story out there and letting the audience decide what resonates with them and what does not. This makes some people uncomfortable. They would rather have a Michael Moore telling them what HE thinks, so they can decide in the end if they love his point of view or hate it.
Divorcing God is not made like this. It's about the gray areas. It's about forming your own thoughts independent of what the filmmaker thinks. In fact, you may not even know what we think after you watch the film. In some ways, this has hurt the movie's reception. People have said - "I don't know what 'side' you are on," "I think you need a 'discussion booklet' to guide conversation", "I'm more confused now than I was in the beginning". To that last comment, I say "good." You are confused because you don't want to think for yourself. Perhaps we need to stop being so lazy with our thoughts and start forming our own opinions, however complex they may be.
That's one of the reasons this film is so controversial in Christian circles. Most of the time, pastors don't want their people to form their own opinions, but as "sheep", they would rather they parrot their own personal thoughts and interpretations of what God is telling them. That is one of the themes of the film.
Christianity is a touchy subject, especially in the southern US and in today's political climate. Marriage is something Christians value deeply, but in many congregations divorce is taboo, and people don't like to talk about what makes them uncomfortable or what may clash with their ideals. But these hard subjects need to be discussed if we are going to move forward together as intelligent human beings making sense of the reality around us. That is my hope with Divorcing God.
Who is the unsung hero of your film and why?
I want the audience to tell me that answer. It will be different for each person. That is the beauty of this film.
Where do you see your film in 5 years?
Divorcing God will be shown to every young person involved in church who is considering getting married someday. Perhaps pastors will be open-minded enough to show it in their own congregations. Non-religious people will enjoy the film as study of religion and its affect on relationships. It will be shown in every city across America and available on the internet, video-on-demand, and television. I would also like to have a nice, healthy theater run at many Southern cities in the US.
Someone has to go to the bathroom during your film, and they have to miss part of your film. Do they miss the beginning, the middle or the end?
If I have to choose, maybe parts of the middle - but please, it is only 1 hour and 8 minutes. Can't you hold it? ;)
How do you properly refer to Atlanta?
A) The ATL
B) Hotlanta
C) The A
D) The Dirty South
E) Anything but B, no one in Atlanta who knows better still uses it.
F) I'm embarrassed to say I still use Hotlanta and I now a vow to never use it again except to denounce it as corny and outdated.
G) Huh? What does this have to do with filmmaking? (But, the answer is E)
F) I'm embarrased to say I still use Hotlanta and I now a vow to never use it again except to denounce it as corny and outdated.
Extra Credit: Use our 2010 festival words EXPERIENCE, THINK, LAUGH, CONNECT, FEEL and Do in a sentence describing your film.
EXPERIENCE what it means to hear God's voice
THINK about why they got married
LAUGH (inside)
CONNECT with the characters
FEEL what seems right to you
DO talk about this film afterwards to the person you sat next to
