Filmmaker Statement

The film explores how the systems of social norms and traditions can create violence and harm, but we’re not trying to vilify anyone. The characters in this film are as much victims of their circumstances as they are the perpetrators of violence. We wanted to show how the language of violence is core to the way many men interact with each other, and how that is taught to boys. The expressions of love the characters show are filtered through layers of social pressures of masculinity that leave them feeling like their only way of connection is through violence. We wanted to explore how this confluence of masculinity and violence can have generational effects, and when you throw in gun culture in the US it becomes even more visceral.