The Optimist – Film and Q&A with Latchis family member and producer Dean Lyras – Oct. 24

The Latchis Theatre hosts a one-night screening of THE OPTMIST, a 2026 feature film based on a true story, on Saturday, October 24, at 7:00pm, followed by a Q&A that highlights an extraordinary Latchis connection to the film. Producer of THE OPTMIST is Dean Lyras, grandson of family patriarch Demetrios Latchis and Thelma Latchis. Lyras’ mother, Sophie, was their seventh child, born in 1915 in the Latchis family home in Brattleboro. Sophie married Stephen Lyras in 1946. Dean Lyras shared this memory via e-mail: “I spent many summers working for John Latchis, my uncle, in Keene and Brattleboro in the theaters selling popcorn and then as a projectionist at 15 years old. That’s when I decided I want to make movies.” Lyras’ career in film and television production has spanned nearly five decades. Drawing on childhood experiences of Vermont winters on the Latchis Family Ski Tow, Lyras was a pioneer in capturing skiing and snowboarding on screen, designing many camera rigs that set a new standard. He worked in television on series such as Delta House and B.J. and the Bear. He was second unit director on the film The Blues Brothers and has dozens of other credits. He founded a production and equipment company that has provided services for many high-profile movies. Most recently, he produced THE OPTMIST: THE BRAVEST ACT IS THE TRUTH. Based on a true story, THE OPTIMIST follows Holocaust survivor Herbert Heller and the unlikely friendship that transforms two lives. At 15, Herbert escaped the Auschwitz-Birkenau death march, carrying the weight of silence for six decades. When he finally breaks that silence, he forms a life-saving bond with Abby, a troubled teenager confronting her own pain. Together, they discover hope, healing, and the transformative power of being truly seen. Starring Stephen Lang (Avatar) as Herbert, Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) as Abby, and Luke David Blumm (Where The Crawdads Sing) as young Herbert, THE OPTIMIST is a profoundly moving film about…