The Space Between, Amy Jo Johnson’s directorial feature debut, is a coming-of-age comedy about a man’s search for meaning on what it means to be a father.

Written and directed by Amy Jo Johnson, the film stars Michael Cram, Sonya Salomaa, Julia Sarah Stone, David Paetkau, Maria Ricossa, Johnson, Kristian Bruun, Jayne Eastwood, and Michael Ironside.

Produced by Jessica Adams and Johnson, The Space Between wouldn’t have been able to be made without the help of nearly 1,500 backers on Indiegogo, Telefilm Canada, and the Talent Fund.  It is sad how so many filmmakers can’t get the funding they need to make a project without turning to their fans but it only shows how the studios are so focused on releasing tentpoles.  With the casting, Johnson has turned to quite few of her Flashpoint co-stars, Michael Cram and David Paetkau.

Mitch (Cram) and Jackie (Salomaa) recently had a daughter but they ran into a major problem along the way in trying to start a family: Mitch’s sperm don’t really work.  Mitch ends up leaving Jackie to escape town and find Danny Baker, the biological father of their daughter.  Along the way, Mitch gives Emily (Stone) a ride even though he said he doesn’t pick up hitchhikers.  It works out better for Mitch than it did in Middle Man when Lenny picked up Hitch.  Emily is only a kid but as soon as she gets in the car, in typical comedic fashion, Mitch discovers that his vehicle is out of gas so they end up having to skate and walk.  Ultimately, the two of them make their way to the small-town funeral home owned by Luella (Eastwood).

Fighting to save their marriage, Jackie decides to turn to her best friend, Amelia (Johnson), to search for Mitch.  This leads to Dina (Ricossa), Felix (Paetkau), and Nick (Ironside) joining the search party.  It’s when they see Luella’s son, Teddy (Bruun), wearing Mitch’s shirt in which all chaos breaks loose when they run after Teddy, who keeps shouting “Stranger Danger” and making karate moves.  The family feared the west for Mitch until they explain that Bob Marley’s nephew was looking for a suit.  I have to say that it’s very funny to see Kristian Bruun running around like crazy after his work on Orphan Black.

It’s a coming-of-age indie comedy even though the characters are older than what one usually expects to see in a coming-of-age film.  When it comes down to everything, it’s about accepting and loving your family, biologically related or not.

Following it’s world premiere in June 2016 at the Shanghai International Film Festival, a run on the festival and comic con circuits, The Space Between will be released this summer.