"One Too Many Mornings" (Sundance 2010) director Michael Mohan is back to the festival in the US Dramatic competition with his new film "Save the Date."

What's it about? Modern love.

Director Michael Mohan says: "The film looks at relationships in a very modern way. One thing our generation is dealing with is the fact that we know full well that 50% of our parents' marriages have ended in divorce. And as we enter into our own long term relationships, as wonderful as they may seem at the outset, there's this strange gray cloud hovering over us, reminding us that we might not make it. One of the reasons our generation is so independent is because of this – and that's great – but not if it comes at the expense of closing ourselves off. There's nothing that makes us more vulnerable than intimacy, but that's beautiful. And we can't be scared of it – not only in our romantic relationships, but in our familial ones too. To put it simply: we gotta stay fluid and let each other in. And so in the same way that 'Singles' and 'Reality Bites' captured relationships in the 90's, 'Save the Date' is about the way relationships are right now.

"I feel like I spend a good percentage of my life trying to understand it. Trying to understand why things are the way they are, why peopleare the way they are, why I am the way I am. And so whenever another emotionally flawed person shares what they've been through, and I learn it's similar to what I've been through or what I'm feeling – it's really comforting. Because people are fucked up – we're all fucked up – and that's okay. And I think that's why I want to be a filmmaker – I just want to share stories that feel honest in the hopes that other people can relate.

"The originator of this story, Jeffrey Brown, is well known for his graphic novels, many of them dealing with his own failed relationships. He is hands down my favorite artist – when you read any of his books, you're just sucked in by how truthful they are. And when they're over, they stick with you. Even to this day, years later, I find myself recalling moments from his books. And the themes are far more complex than the surface level might indicate – they reveal themselves to you long after you've read them.

"My goal is for audiences to react to the film the same way readers react to his books. Hopefully you'll feel like you just spent 90 minutes hanging out with five of your friends. Being entertained by situations that you feel like you might have experienced yourself."

 

Read the article at Indiewire.com.