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It was while on Vancouver Island that Behrman had a dream that lead to an idea that lead to renewed creative inspiration and then to the creation of the new feature film Giant Little Ones which opens in Vancouver on March 29.

“It all began about six years ago. I had just come to the end of many years of focusing on meditation and yoga and I was studying a lot,” said Behrman. “I had a dream about a young man talking to a mother in a kitchen and what really stood out for me in that dream was the sense of love between them and the connection. So, I just started writing some notes about that and then it just kept coming and I kept writing notes.

“Eventually I realized that there was a story I could tell and the more time I spent with it the more I realized what it was about and I got a sense it was an important story and worthwhile telling,” added Behrman, who studied fine arts and film at SFU. “I decided to go back to Vancouver and start writing and that was really my re-entry into filmmaking. I hadn’t done it for awhile and I wasn’t sure I would ever do it again.”

The story is the poignant, timely coming of age story about teen boys, the quiet, sensitive Franky (Josh Wiggins) and his brash, best pal Ballas (Darren Mann). The two have been inseparable since early childhood but that changes when a sudden and unexpected intimate moment turns their world upside down and leaves one of them to defend himself in the face of lies and bullying brought on by the other.

Photo by Handout / PNG

“I wasn’t sure if I would ever make another film. It wasn’t on my mind and it was really a delightful experience to have a story come to me that I thought was important,” said Behrman. “It happened very organically. It was really such a gift. I feel really honoured to have been able to make this film and have it be out in the world and impacting people in such a positive way. The things I hear back from people are incredible.”

The film ventures into the minefield of teenage sexuality and orientation. But it isn’t a coming out film. As Behrman points out, it goes well beyond that familiar territory.

“It’s a film that transcends that. I think (today) people are embracing the ambiguity and the hugeness of our sexuality and identity. Some people still struggle with that,” said Behrman. “You don’t have to be gay to have those experiences.”

By not making this a coming out movie, Behrman in essence has pushed back against the idea that the labels foisted upon us do not fully define us. He makes this point through the two boys but also with the help of a deep and complicated cast of characters. Most notable is Franky’s single mother, played by Maria Bello, and his gay father, played by Kyle MacLachlan. Ballas’s sister, the struggling Natasha (Taylor Hickson), is another of the layered and pivotal people in this story.