Flipping Out is a feature-length documentary about gymnastics, abuse, and the 40 year friendship between Julie (the producer) and Amy (the director). Balancing the horrific story of their shared abuse with humor and sass, Magnificent Things Media has set out to tell the story of two women, who never once spoke about their shared abuse for 30 years - despite the fact that they were best friends. The story that unfolds once they finally confront their past, highlights the power of friendship and the undeniable power of women gathering together.

Themes:

• Not sensationalizing a sensational story

• Honoring the ways that girls and women communicate/commemorate/memorialize things with stickers, photo albums, autograph books, journals...and now with emojis, memes, and GIFs

• The relentless march of time and the army of survivors who are in this for the long run

• The many (many) layers of women's lives - and the shadows of abuse that follow women for their whole life - sometimes very visible, and sometimes barely noticeable - literal and figural shadows.

• Trauma-informed education and facts including the long term effects of abuse and things that survivors can do to help ameliorate those effects.

• Red flags that showed up along the way

• Ways to listen to people who are sounding the alarm

• Channeling the collective rage and exasperation of women and laying out explicit calls for action. The message to the people in power will be loud and clear: "Hello, people who are in power and are getting paid to do the jobs. DO THE F*CKING JOBS." (Can you feel the exasperation?)

  • Points of rage will include:

    • The oversight of National Governing Bodies like USA Gymnastics

    • The USOC and their history of placing more value on gold medals rather than on the safety of children and the well-being of athletes

    • (Not so) Safesport 

    • Statutes of Limitation reform

• And don't worry, we'll make it funny too (because that is the coping mechanism of our director...and she can't bear another doom and gloom documentary that contains no hope.)

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There are over two dozen Flairs gymnasts willing to go on camera to tell their story. Each has archival photos, documents, newspapers, magazine articles, and home videos.

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The film is currently in development with a completion goal of sometime in 2021.