The film doesn't pull any punches. Photo / Supplied
The film doesn't pull any punches. Photo / Supplied
A new Kiwi documentary that takes an unflinching look at the reality of open relationships is turning heads around the world, with the director's own complicated love life providing the source material.
There is no I in Threesome, which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, was a passion project for German-born Kiwi filmmaker Jan Oliver Lucks, who set about to document the experiment he undertook with his fiancee - no holds barred.
Lucks began his relationship with actress Zoe after arriving in New Zealand to study film.
Before they married, the pair agreed to have sex with other people and film it, continuing a long-distance relationship throughout.
"Sex can be a performance or an act," 37-year-old Lucks told the New York Post.
He told the Los Angeles Times that the experiment allowed him to test the boundaries of his sexuality after being a self-described "sexual underachiever" at university.
But following the sex, came the infatuation, the jealousy, and the insecurity.
"The film became quite crucial to my wellbeing," he told the Post. "I leaned on it heavily in hard times. I knew I had to see this through."
"Making this film over the last five years has been one wild, slippery, ride," Lucks said in a press release.
"I am thrilled that we can now finally share the journey, offering a voyeuristic look at the fun to be had when opening up a relationship. Bring your mum, but don't tell mine!"
Lucks told the Post that he allowed things to go further than he was comfortable with for the sake of the film, revealing that it was hard to see other men meeting his fiancee's needs.
As Zoe falls deeper into another romance, the film shows Lucks asking if she would end it with the other man.
She refuses.
Lucks said the process of making the film led to a "lot of self-growth".
"We also learned a lot about each other, and found out how we worked as a couple. It was quite valuable, figuring it all out before marriage," he told the Post.
The film's shock ending has stunned audiences around the world. Photo / Supplied
The film's shocking ending has stunned audiences around the world, revealing an aspect to the relationship that casts the film in a totally different light.
Lucks told the LA Times that he was relieved that the production process was over and the film was now out.
"Sometimes it was like stabbing myself in the heart while holding the camera because it made for good drama. And I made choices that were not good for my mental health and not good for the relationship."
