We felt it would be important to connect with the audience after Beyond the Spectrum’s launch, so Stef and I had agreed in advance to do the Q & A following the film.  There was an overwhelming feeling of excitement and gut wrenching fear as the date for the AGO Launch neared. It’s difficult to put your life up on a big screen!

From the moment we first saw Beyond the Spectrum, we have loved the film that Steve created, however it was over a year before we had the opportunity to hear an audience’s feedback.  Needless to say it was a long year.  Even though the film is Steve’s creation it is based on our initial idea… to connect with families and help shed light on our personal experience of raising two children on the Spectrum. Everyone has their own story to tell, ours is just one of many!

As we watched the film in a theatre filled with strangers, we spotted family and friends sprinkled throughout the audience and we felt a sense of calm. We were going to have an opportunity to respond to feedback from this audience and share this experience with them.

As the credits came on the screen there was silence followed by applause. We did not feel an ounce of regret or remorse!  What we felt was an overwhelming feeling of love and understanding from the audience.

Then came the question period.  We sat on the stage with our Director, Steve Suderman, and waited for the to connect with our audience. The questions came immediately and they were kind and thoughtful.  Many people wanted to hear our thoughts about that year and they were curious about how it was portrayed versus our personal experience, they wanted to know how Oskar is doing today, and they asked what we have been up to since the filming. Had we tried different forms of therapy? Were we still on a waiting list? What had changed for us in the intervening years? We tried to answer the questions as best as we could.  A lot of what we have done in the past few years since filming has ended could not be summed up in a few sentences.

However, as we shared some details with the audience and addressed questions posed to us, I felt a sense of calm.  I don’t have all the answers nor a recipe for success and that was not the point of the film or what we are about. But our year of filming and self-reflection (some times very literally as we watched past footage) highlighted the fact that with love and acceptance we can create a solid base to help our kids progress and thrive.

We want to thank all of those that made the effort to come and see the film on the big screen and to connect with us and the Autism community in Toronto.

We wish you all success on your own journeys and remember… you’ve got this!

We are so grateful for the team at Merit Motion Pictures for organizing the whole event… and of course to Steve, our awesome director who took on this project with heart, soul and camera in hand! 🙂

Gratefully,

Carly