The riveting film that drew standing-room only crowds at film festivals is out now and BREATHEcast caught up with 'Little Hope Was Arson' director Theo Love for an interview in which he talks about the difficult internal battles the victims of the crime suffered long after the burnings.

The movie is a dramatic documentary about a wave of church burnings that swept through East Texas in 2010. Love takes the audience on a journey of discovering the crimes, the grueling investigation, and the arrest up until where every one is now.

Although there are so many powerful moments in the film, during our interview Love touches on only a few of them highlighting the different reactions of the Pastors who lost their churches.

"There was a moment in the courtroom where one of the pastors of the churches speaks directly to the victim, and it still gets me every time," he acknowledged, "because at the core of it there's a story of forgiveness and you see it, you see right in the court room this man who just so beautifully articulates what it means to forgive someone."

Although the pastor in the courtroom spoke of forgiveness Love maintains that churches can be a bit more proactive in the lives of their congregants that are struggling before things get out of hand.

"I think that the broad lesson for churches of this is that if we're expecting people to come to us or come to our building but we're not going out there and leading people in their time of need, If we're not going to them, then we're not really what the church is suppose to be," he noted.

Another person who significantly stands out in the film, and Love brings up, is James Ellis. Ellis was the Sunday school teacher of the two perpetrators from elementary school through middle school. "He was such a unique person to meet because he was the only one at east Texas that took a very very personal sense of responsibility for these men," Love revealed, "Nobody else put that burden on themselves. I think James actually put too much of a burden on himself."

Love said the pastor's response however is what he thinks is "the power of this story, that he puts that responsibility on himself." Watch Ellis speak below:

Love also opened up about the reaction of another Pastor and his wife and their struggle to forgive these boys for burning their church for no reason. "That moment with pastor Mahfood and his wife on the couch, that was a moment where two people who had had their home church intentionally burned to the ground [and they] were struggling with forgiving the person who had intentionally hurt them," Love compassionately noted, "I love the struggle of that moment because their not denying forgiveness, they're simply showing how hard it is. By acknowledging how hard forgiveness and grace is you are acknowledging the tremendous gift that it is."

Throughout the film all of the accounts are very powerful and honest and Love revealed that every one involved was in fact "very open" but it did take some work to get there.

"The hard part about some of the interviews was gaining the trust to get venerable with these people," he said, "I was asking them questions about the hardest moments of their lives. When their sons let them down... and to get that level of honesty and vulnerability from people it takes time and you have to build that relationship one step at a time, and you build that trust with each other, and eventually, I'm so grateful that they trusted me with there story and I just hope that I've done it justice."

Finally Love stated, "This movie is a real story of churches, its not something that I came up with in my head, or made because I thought churches would like. Especially because it's about burning churches, I don't want to scare people off about it but I really hope that churches can find the redemption and really be inspired to do ministry better with this film."

The film was produced by Trenton Waterson of the Collaborate and Love of Goodnight Smoke, 'Little Hope Was Arson' is executive produced by Bryan Storkel. It debuted November 21 in New York and November 23, in the heart of East Texas where the story unfolded. The film's release will spread to Los Angeles, and a number of other cities including several in Texas, on November 28. See listing below or visit littlehopewasarson.com

CURRENTLY SCHEDULED OPENINGS

Nov. 23, 2014

Tyler, Texas Liberty Hall

Nov. 25, 2014

Oakland Calif. New Parkway Cinema

Nov. 28, 2014

Los Angeles Laemmle Noho 7

San Diego Media Arts Center

San Francisco Roxie Theater

Portland, Ore. Clinton Street Theater

Dallas Texas Theatre

Houston Drafthouse Vintage Park

Austin Drafthouse Slaughter Lane

Lubbock Drafthouse Lubbock

New Braunfels, Texas Drafthouse New Braunfels

Burlington, Iowa Capitol Theater

Dec. 5, 2014

Columbus Gateway Film Center

New Orleans Zeitgeist Arts Center

Edom, Texas Old Firehouse

Juneau, Alaska Gold Town Nickelodeon

Tallahassee, Fla. All Saints Cinema

Watch the chilling trailer below: