Interview with Daniel Karslake

And then her husband doesn't allow someone who's trying to cover her up and block her from the camera. He pushes away the jacket and makes her pray, which I thought was fascinating, sort of interesting in its own right. She starts praying and she just seems sort of pathetic, so I started feeling sorry for her and then she says this really nasty thing like "Pray for him, Father, and save him from his devious lifestyle," which is this dark, mean sort of thing.

So for me the first time I saw it I went through this whole range of emotions and I immediately knew that that's how I was gonna open the movie. Because I want to knock people off their center at the beginning of this film because no matter where they're coming from, they're going to think they know what it's about. And it's been so fascinating to hear people's response just to that opening clip. One of the most unexpected things that's happened is that a couple of conservative Christians came up to me at Sundance and said, "I just wanted to thank you and I had so much faith in the movie as soon as you started it off with a perfect example of an anti-Christian hate crime, thank you so much!" And I just went "Oh... uh-huh..." I had never thought of that. From their perspective, that is Christians being bashed for their beliefs.

Whereas we did one gay and lesbian film festival, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Outfest, and when the movie started there as soon as the pie hit it was an uproar. It was a whole other thing. So I just loved how it how it takes you on a mini-journey, or at least it did for me. And from what I hear it affects most people that way.

AE: A documentary about the Bible is not the sexiest, most marquee-ready thing...
DK: NO? What do you mean?! (laughs)

AE: But the film is amazing — what would you say to encourage people to check it out?
DK: I would just say that this is a film that really tries to take the whole conversation to a new level, and to restart the conversation. And it's really a film aimed at this "movable middle" in America that mostly lives in the Red States who are meeting a gay or lesbian person for the first time in their world, either in their church or in their school or their family or their workplace. And they're confused because this gay person they've met, the first one that they've ever known, isn't this dark, after-your-children kind of person that Jerry Falwell always talked about. "He's a nice guy and when I was sick he actually called me to make sure I was okay! Huh!? But, the Bible condemns them."

I really wanted to make a film for those people in particular and for gay and lesbian people who have those people in their lives, that they could take them to the film or give them the DVD, so that people can understand that it's not either your faith or your sexuality; it's not either your faith or your child, or your brother or your sister or your cousin or your nephew. They're not mutually exclusive AT ALL.

You know, I don't really know how to "sexy it up", because ... it is a doc. It is a doc that I think really does profoundly affect a lot of people, miraculously. I hear that a lot and, as a filmmkaer, that's like the best thing you can hear. So I guess the sexiest thing is, if you want to be moved and informed and armed to face those on the right? See the movie so that you can emerge stronger and more able to have that discussion.

AE: Especially since so many gay people have distanced themselves from their faith communities after feeling unwelcome.
DK: Hugely. There's so much wounding and so much anger, and understandably! That's what happens.

AE: Is there anything else you'd like to pass on?
DK: This is my first film and it's been an incredible learning curve for me. And the thing I've learned and that I never really understood until very recently is how important it is that people go see this movie in the first week when it opens in their city. It's just stupidly important. It's what determines whether advertising and marketing money will be spent on it, and more importantly it's what determines whether bookers for those smaller Midwestern towns like Fort Wayne, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky or Norfolk, Virginia -- the places where we really need this film to get? The only way it will get there is if people see it in the theater and see it early. So if there's any way to encourage people to get out there and see it in the theatres, go to the website and see where it's playing.

Visit the For the Bible Tells Me So website to see showtimes in your are.