"Let's face it. Relationship violence is not a racial or an ethnic problem. It's not just an urban or a rural problem. It's a human problem and it's happening right here across America."

It Ain't Love looks at teen dating violence through the eyes of a group of spirited young people involved in an improvisational theater company in New York. Given three months to create a show about abusive relationships, troupe members start by exploring their own lives, reenacting scenes of violence they have experienced, witnessed, or inflicted on others. Part-drama, part-documentary, the video captures the intensive process of probing, listening, confronting and sharing the young actors go through in creating their improv scenes. Under the guidance of the talented social worker directing the project, the young men and women struggle with one another and with the powerful feelings their reenactments evoke. Strong contrasts between the experiences of female and male cast members emerge as the actors work to recreate their understandings of how acts of abusive control and violence get misconstrued as signs of "love" in teen dating relationships. By courageously staying with the truth of their experience, troupe members build up a complex portrait of how violence surfaces in teen relationships--and how it can be eliminated.

Recommended for use in high school classroom settings or with community-based youth groups. Adult preview of the film and planning for group discussion is recommended.

Includes a facilitator's guide, activities, and handouts. Strong language advisory. 57 minutes. ©1998 Olmos Productions, Inc.