What defines ‘true love’? Simple or abstract, short or sweet, True Love is the series examining the intense connections between three very different Nashville-based couples. AG Rojas and Vincent Haycock of MAINLINE, and the executive producers behind the short films, ask: “What does it look like to respond to judgment from your family with humility? What does it look like to not give up on a person who broke your heart? How do you go on when the person you’ve loved since you were 17 passes away from the same illness you lost your father to?”

True Love is the second series from production company MAINLINE, succeeding Tribute, which celebrates youth culture. It begins with Sarah and Bri, a young lesbian couple at odds with traditional Bible belt values and family ties. The next episode traces the rocky path of teenagers Dylan and Brianna, and finally the life of rapper Lil Vac as he pieces his life together following the death of his one love. Through make ups, break ups, life and death, we examine the reality of the ultimate intimacy.

The series first found life as Young Love, brought to Rojas and Haycock by producer Elise Tyler two years ago. “It began as Young Love because originally that is what we were exploring. But after two years, it wasn’t young anymore, and even though the characters in the films are in their teens or barely out of their teens, they have lived through more than most and are incredibly articulate and mature and full of poetry,” explains Rojas. “Their words are matched by the visual poetry created by Michael (Carter) and Elise and their collaborators. The films are just as much about love as they are about class, about a city, about family.”

Now, we’re presented with a “visual memory bank” for the characters, which highlights the heady highs and the intense lows of being sweet on another human being. Below, MAINLINE interview director Michael Carter and producer Elise Tyler, as they dissect the pillars of emotion that go along with true love.

MAINLINE: When you guys first started considering the couples for the series, were you conscious of the different themes you wanted to explore, or did those reveal themselves as you went along?

Michael Carter: The theme for me was young love, or first love, when we first began. A lot of the themes didn’t present themselves till the interviews. 

Elise Tyler: I was definitely interested in both these people as individuals who shared the common link of being truly in love. For Sarah and Bri, there were obvious issues of sexuality and gender. So much of the story just came out when we started talking. That’s when this really started to take shape. 

Michael Carter: For each couple, we just asked “How did you two meet?” It was exciting to see what would come from such a simple question. 

MAINLINE: What was the process of gaining the trust from the couples? Was it pretty immediate? Did you show up on the first day with a camera or spend some time getting to know them?

Elise Tyler: I think trust comes pretty naturally when two, three, or four people are all connecting and realize everyone is coming from a good place. Michael and I had worked with them all on other projects, so it was pretty easy to get them comfortable in front of the camera. We also did the audio interviews separately, just recording audio. Each interview was done separately between the couples, we didn’t interview them together. There was no pressure of performing, it was just an honest conversation between friends. We have relationships with all of them outside of this project, though. They are now our friends, we hang out and talk with everyone often. 

Michael Carter: By just having a microphone instead of a camera, people are less guarded.

MAINLINE: There is a certain visual playfulness in Sarah and Bri. What inspired the aesthetic approach of each film? 

Michael Carter: I was thinking magical realism for each episode. Because we did the interview first, I had weeks to come up with the visuals for each episode. I think the playfulness in Sarah and Bri comes from the little kid, Sami, getting his head shaved and walking around and I didn’t even know he was going to be there when we shot. More traditional direct cinema documentary there as opposed to the written visuals of that episode. Like Bri’s family being represented by a mega-church.

MAINLINE: I hadn’t thought about that, you never see her family.

Elise Tyler: Yes, they did not want to be filmed, but it opened up a space for creatively approaching the visuals for their part of the story. Aesthetically, we also had a great team to collaborate with. Dustin Lane, our cinematographer, is great at creeping through a space and finding the quiet moments. Bart Mangrum, our art director, created several key pieces.

MAINLINE: The films have very compelling cinematography and there are many shots of civilians and empty streets. There’s almost a sense that maybe these three couples could run into each other at any moment. Can you talk a little about the importance of Tennessee in the films? 

Elise Tyler: I feel like this project is so representative of Tennessee, specifically Nashville, which is where all of the couples are from. We are both Nashville natives and I think Michael did a great job of incorporating space and place into the narrative. Those fine details – landscape, logos, the rhythm of a place ­– are what shape stories and people's lives. The couples have not met, but totally ­– everyone, cast and crew, are literally our neighbours. Sarah and Bri live down the street from me. 

Michael Carter: I definitely wanted each short to be its own world. I love that it feels like the characters could run into each other. I try to have location as a character with most of my work. Like the lady closing her door in the Wal Mart parking lot. By having a shot linger on her, I want the audience to wonder how her day is going. Did she grow up there? Is she picking up medicine for her father? I grew up in Nashville. I guess all of my stories come from there in a way. And Sarah, Bri, and Lil Vac could run into each other at the grocery.

“It is not something we addressed directly, but I think the air of each episode alludes to the struggles so many Americans currently face” – Elise Tyler

MAINLINE: There is obviously great respect shown the people in the films. Was there a lot of discussion between you two as to what should be in the edit in regards to how each couple and their families would react? It was a conscious decision to show the father presenting his guns in Sarah and Bri, for example – which is as much a political choice as it is an editorial one. 

Elise Tyler: Scotty, who is Sarah's dad and who is presenting the guns, is a friend of ours. I met him years ago when he installed some floors for me, and we became fast friends. We are neighbours, and connected on music, politics – despite his gun ownership, Scotty is liberal and is definitely a hippie, peace-loving guy. Michael wanted to show his guns and I thought it was a beautiful image – and Scotty is proud, happy to share. Michael was the head editor for True Love as well as director, and he is acutely tuned to the edit while we are filming. We have worked together a lot, so as we were shooting, I could see the edit occurring, and sure enough, when he showed me his first cut, it was all there as it had been imagined. 

Michael Carter: Yes, with the case of the guns, I've known Scotty for a while. I knew that he had those guns. I asked him to do that to accentuate his character and to add mystery in the plot, but mainly to throw a curve ball to the audience. He looks dangerous but is accepting and encourages his daughter to love whereas, Bri's family, more 'straight' church-going was not accepting. Much like the political climate in the US, especially the southern United States or the rest of the country's perception of that.

Elise Tyler: I'm glad you bring up politics, because I think that so many sociopolitical issues emerged in the stories. Each of our subjects has been personally affected by larger national issues. There is a war on poor people in this country, and it is frightening. It is not something we addressed directly, but I think the air of each episode alludes to the struggles so many Americans currently face. 

MAINLINE: 100 percent, kind of what I was getting at, the guns are just an example, but there is a delicate balance between showing how their real lives are, or romanticising them out of respect or something, even though they are all really proud of who they are and where they come from.

Elise Tyler: Totally. At its heart, the common trait that all of us share is that we are good people – despite how different each couple and individual may be, each person is open minded and not judgmental. Maybe that's why they are able to be in such open and loving relationships. That is a really beautiful thing to encounter and document.

Stay tuned for episodes two and three, coming soon to Dazed