Dear Sirs debuts at LCCC

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - Ten years after his death, Mark Pedri discovers a long-lost secret about his grandfather that he didn’t know of while his grandfather was alive.

This secret inspired a film that has been shown across Wyoming and is debuting at Laramie County Community College.

Filmmaker Mark Pedri grew up in Rock Springs, Wyoming, went to the University of Wyoming for Journalism and got his Film Degree at USC.

This documentary filmmaker stumbled across his grandfather’s secret when he found a knife on the inseam of his grandfather’s bed.

This out-of-character incident led Pedri down the rabbit hole of finding out his grandfather was a prisoner of war during World War 2 in Germany.

”To think I knew him and to realize he had this piece of him he never revealed that was the catalyst for wanting to tell the story,” said Pedri.

Newspaper articles, documents from the government, and photos of his 24-year-old grandfather as a soldier were a moment of discovery for Pedri.

" Trying to meet a version of somebody you weren’t able to meet when they were alive that really was the foundation of the film,” said Pedri.

75 years after his grandfather’s service, the incident inspired the film.

“It came from a very personal place, just wanting to get to know this side of him. And through that process I realized you know this is a very common story of people in World War 2,” said Pedri.

Pedri says many veterans who came back chose to leave part of themselves behind to start anew back home.

“It really is a film that reminds us of what it means to be a community and the power of storytelling,” said Pedri.

Gov. Mark Gordon. will give an opening statement at the Surbrugg Prentice auditorium at LCCC.

For information on the film, click here.

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