What stood out to you the most throughout the time you spent with these two girls and with their folks?

Well, for one thing, we spent four years with them and really watched them grow up.

And Evie is a self-proclaimed extrovert, and Vanessa is an introvert.

And to see their personalities grow in front of us as they grew, they matured.

But their friendship, nothing was interfering with their friendship.

As a matter of fact, they were hesitant to be part of the project because they just didn't want the very fact that we'd be filming them and talking with them to interfere with their friendship.

So it was remarkable to see.

Were you at all surprised by their response to their portrayals?

Right

... who have opposite political viewpoints and don't really get along.

However, they allow their kids to be best friends, uh, which says a lot about who they are, 'cause a lot of places around the country, you know, the parents don't want their kids to associate in any way with someone, with a kid that is, whose parents has a different point of view.

And I think that's r- really remarkable, and it says a lot about these human beings that we often trash on both sides.

And I think that's what we were real- really interested in doing, is seeing the humanity beside, bes- uh, behind all the rhetoric that we all see.

But, but two, it's the only way, right? You leave and you're like, "Well, that, of course, is the only way we're gonna get through this." What surprised you in making the series?

series?I, I think, you know, in part, like some, some people would say, "Well, they're young.

What do they know?" Um, the, the cynical attitude toward the girls from some people.

And Robert, what is it in particular that put this on your map, on your radar screen? Was there a particular incident that played out in one of those early meetings that caused you to pay attention?

Yeah, as a matter of fact, and to Barry's point, the other thing that Barry would talk about in the early days was like Our Town, the play Our Town, for example, about our town.

And so I think that's what made us focus on an individual town as opposed to doing this project all across the country.

But when the New York Times put out on the daily the school board wars and one of the daily podcasts that drew our attention because both or all three of us, Jason Sosnoff and Barry and I, we were all interested in doing a show or a documentary.

It started out as just a one off documentary.

about the division and the the ability for people to be civil and we wanted to do that somewhere but what what gave us the motor was the school board campaign because what was happening in bucks county the parents on both sides of the political divide would go to these school board meetings and they would argue for the benefit of their kids.

It was like life and death sort of thing.

Your thoughts?

Can you talk a little bit about what happened? Your reaction? What was the screening like and the reaction to the film?

Um, the, uh, yes, it was a wild 48 hours prior to last night to find a location that we could, we could have it.

Um, the, the screening was great.

The, uh, the Q and a, we had a similar Q and a at Sundance and which got contentious with the participants.

The participants have been great and we've created relationships with people on both sides that, that we will have forever.

Um, But it's very difficult for all of them to get together and talk about this in its discourse.

And we're seeing it happen.

speaking truth to power, being unafraid here.