Like many writers, Westfeldt and Juergensen were determined to have roles in the movie they wrote - and not just any role: the lead roles. Unlike most writers, they succeeded. “As unknown actresses,” they say, “we were tired of all the thankless roles out there - the nagging girlfriend, the young mom, the adoring wife - basically, the ‘Honey, come to bed’ roles. So, in order to empower ourselves, we created our own juicy roles. We were inspired by Billy Bob Thornton, Matt Damon & Ben Affleck, Ed Burns… all those hungry artists who insisted on being let in the game.”

If the whole history of KJS’s progress from idea to indie hit sounds a little bit like a fairytale, the way in which the film got to be made has an equally magical dose of serendipity. Westfeldt and Juergensen approached Eden Wurmfeld, who had been line producer on that other indie sleeper, Swingers. The three of them then teamed up with a former AOL executive called Brad Zions, who had some money and was looking to become a movie producer.

As for the film’s director, Charles Herman-Wurmfeld he, like the writers/producers-and-soon-to-be-stars, came from the world of theatre. “I fell in love with the story,” he says, when asked how he became involved. “I chased the producers and the writers, insisting that they hire me. I banged on a few tables. Eventually, everyone seemed to want me on board. But I was a risk because I had not yet made a 35mm feature on this scale [Herman-Wurmfeld had, however, just done a documentary for MTV].

“I flew to New York City for a staged reading to keep myself at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Also, my sister Eden (one of the producers), with whom I have collaborated extensively, knew I was ready and kept throwing my hat into the ring.”

“This movie was a crash course for us,” explain the writers, “but in many ways it wasn’t so different from the ‘garage theatre’ out of which the play was born. You end up asking everyone you know for something. Jen’s mom location-scouted in Connecticut, Heather’s mom housed the gaffer, Charlie’s mom did the still photography. Friends, family and friends of friends invested money in the film. People offered services, favours, went out of their way for us. There is no way we could ever pay all of these people back. It becomes like an old-fashioned ‘barn-raising’, where everyone - hopefully - takes some satisfaction in the final product and recognises that they offered a small but integral contribution to it. This is the true heart and soul of indie film-making.”

Director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. “I fell in love with the story,” he says. “I chased the producers and the writers, insisting that they hire me.”

Director Herman-Wurmfeld had another reason for being involved: he felt a personal connection with the story. “I can relate to the struggle to define sexuality in a world that’s all about labels,” he explains. “KJS is close to the bone for me in that Helen’s story is similar to my own coming out. When I was 22, I fell in love with my straight (male) best friend and had to deal with the confusion, frustration and eventual epiphany of my identity as a gay person. After much struggle and heartache, we came to accept and love one another as friends - he was straight, I was gay.”

And that, insist the writers, is what the movie is really about: a relationship between two people who happen to be of the same gender. It is not a ‘gay film’, nor does it make fun of straights trying to come to grips with unexpected feelings. It is a romantic comedy that stays inside certain conventions and steps outside others.

“We have no interest in a political agenda with this film,” insist Westfeldt and Juergensen. “We wanted to tell a very specific story about two very particular people. That is not to say we are unaware of some of the hot-button issues we are touching on: we simply wanted to explore what happens when we drop our preconceived notions of who we are, who we’re supposed to be, and who we’re supposed to be with.

“At the end of the day, the movie’s about taking a risk and diving into life, rather than saying ‘No!’ based on correctness or myopia or fear. It’s what we tried to do as writers and what we asked of our main characters. More than anything, we wanted this story to be about risk, possibility and growth.”