"I Thought It Was Forever" Weekly All Access Pass

by Alleathea Carter-Perkins and Tiffani Horne
http://www.indiegogo.com/I-Thought-It-Was-Forever?a=386630

From concept to creation and completion, the progress of a documentary like "I Thought It Was Forever" depends heavily on a well-experienced crew, brave cast and donations. The film is like "Broke Back Mountain" meets "Modern Family" and "Happily Divorced," only the people in "I Thought It Was Forever" are real, their stories candid and the outcome is unpredictable.


Throughout the online fundraising campaign to raise $15,000 in completion funds for the film, on this blog you will get a weekly in-depth look at a member of the cast and crew making the universal film possible. This week, Southern Belle Productions, LLC introduces you to Production Assistant, Tiffani Horne and cast member, Melissa.

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Ray

Melissa
When Melissa was a teenager, she met her now ex-husband when they were both working at a retail store. A friend introduced the San Antonio couple and they went out on several group dates before falling in love with each other. Several of the dates included the couple visiting gay bars in San Antonio. According to Melissa, the gay bars were the safest places to party in San Antonio at the time, because the city's nightlife was very dangerous.

After a five year courtship the two decided they could not live without each other. When her ex-husband's proposed, he made sure it was unforgettable, renting out an entire restaurant for the night.  Before the couple married Melissa's father gave her an unusual warning.  

Photo Courtesy of Melissa

"My father looked at me and said ‘‘he's going to leave you with lots of children to raise,” says Melissa.

Before the wedding and ignoring all the red flags, Melissa says, "I felt strange, almost like something wasn't right and I forgot to pack a lot of things for our honeymoon. Now that I look back on it, I see I felt strange because I knew something was wrong but I married him anyway."

Melissa ex-husband told her that he wanted to stay married to her but have sex with men. After 20 long years of marriage Melissa asked for a divorce.  The couple share custody of their two young daughters. Melissa does not know if she will ever re-marry.

Photo Courtesy of Lawrence Dortch

“What I like about I Thought It Was Forever” is it exposes an issue that affects millions of families and it needs to be addressed. ”, says production assistant, Tiffani Horne.

Tiffani Horne is an IT Business Analyst who works as a consultant in the federal sector by day, by night she's a striving movie producer/writer/director. She recently worked as the First Assistant Director and Associate Producer on a short film entitled Fair Play, produced by Rosehaven Productions.  

Tiffani is writing a feature length script with the working title of How Long?  The film is a story about four single, talented and trendsetting women, and their journey to find and embrace their American dream of a husband, children and satisfying careers. The women are from diverse family backgrounds and have interesting careers.

We welcome all of your comments about "I Thought It Was Forever" and would love to hear your stories about love, forgiveness, shock and satisfaction. Please e-mail Maniko Barthelemy directly at NewsHeels@gmail.com