Moments in Spacetime premieres tomorrow: “I hope it opens people’s perspective.”

Last Friday marked the VIP showing of Moments in Spacetime, the movie created and directed by Chris Cowden.

Over one year ago, Cowden and his wife, producer and actor Patty Srisuwan, came up with the idea while driving in their car.

“It started out as a conversation in a car…and then we brought it to life, and that’s the magic of it. This moment is very special because we’ve been working a long time on this, including the crew,” says Srisuwan, during an onstage interview with Greg Friend, the emcee of the exciting and emotional night.

While the idea and plot for the movie were created in their car, Macie’s (Srisuwan’s) grandfather, played by John Rhys-Davies, was based off Cowden’s experience with his own grandfather suffering from dementia.

“The film was dedicated to him and his memory…I really think that it’s something that affects a lot of people and I hope that it opens people’s perspective on the topic,” sympathizes Cowden.

A visit from Cold Lake Elementary left the audience speechless as they gave their rendition of “I’ll Follow,” a song created specifically for the movie.

Adding bits of humour into his film made Moments in Spacetime a memorable experience for the first audience to ever see the final cut.

Macie, played by Patty Srisuwan, is an adopted Thai woman struggling to find her cultural identity in Canada, as well as attempting to discover information on her birth parents. Her grandfather, who is suffering from dementia, helps her learn about them, but also giving her useful advice that she applies throughout the film.

The movie was shot locally, which allowed many businesses to participate and open their doors for the cast and crew of Moments in Spacetime.

The Cold Lake Marina, Cold Lake Air Base, and Bonnyville Dairy Queen, played an important role in developing the characters as well as the plot.

Many hearts were touched during the feature and some scenes brought tears to viewers’ eyes.

The film smoothly incorporated issues that individuals are not usually comfortable talking about such as dementia and racism, which Maisy works through in the movie.

Starting tomorrow, Moments in Spacetime will be shown for one week at Grand Square Cinema in Cold Lake for the public to enjoy.

The couple finished off the night by thanking everyone for coming and supporting them and contributing to the film.

Srisuwan summed up the entire film in nine small words that touched the entire audience.

“We’re not asking for sympathy, we’re asking for empathy.”