Strong Contingent of Vegreville Residents Attend Movie Premiere

Strong Contingent of Vegreville Residents Attend Movie Premiere

Michelle Pinon News Advertiser

Vegreville Mayor Tim MacPhee commented, “I was really impressed with it. Really impressed. It was more than what I was expecting for sure. It was raw at times, you could taste the hurt, the emotions. The acting was well done.”

MacPhee said he knew most of the extras in the movie, and that it was “pretty amazing” to see babas and guidos as well as the Plain Lake Church and Hall that were featured in scenes from the movie.

Some of those extras included Myron and Rhonda Hayduk from Vegreville. Rhonda said, “Myron and I had little personal connection with Troy before he began the process of making this movie. Myron has known Troy’s parents, however, all his life and I met them over 35 years ago.

Troy approached Myron about using some of his period cars for the movie. A call out for extras intrigued us so we showed up for several of the days. We now have a great appreciation for the movie-making process. It takes lots of patience as some scenes are shot over and over from different

angles. The actors/actresses have to put all their emotions in the scene even if it is the 12th time it was done.

We were able to see the film at a theatre so we experienced the full visual and audio performance. It was exciting to spot us in a few of the shots however due to editing there were many scenes that were not used. The story was full of emotion and beautiful scenery so we were more rapt in the movie rather than looking for familiarity. All the vehicles that were used fit into the period which is important for believability.

Kudos to Troy and we hope that his movie is a great success....and perhaps another one to come?”

Vegreville resident Tim Nawrot and his wife Elizabeth attended the premiere and had this to say, “Going to our first ever movie premiere, the

premiere of ‘They Who Surround Us’ was a great experience. Being from Vegreville, I have known the Ruptashes for quite a while. My wife Elizabeth and I have become friends with Troy’s parents Larry and Lil.

We have always felt it to be very important to support our Vegreville community whenever the opportunity presents itself. When Troy started this project a couple of years ago we were sure to help out.

It has been quite a journey for Troy, this movie, and everyone who has been involved, so the atmosphere at the showing was almost electric, so much excitement. All I can say is, “ Wow, what a film! Elizabeth and I were looking forward to this so much and we were definitely impressed. We can’t wait for when we have the opportunity to see this movie again.”