ORLANDO, Fla. – Outliving your child could be as devastating as seeing a loved one battle a deadly disease. A father who lost his son experienced both. He will never forget the heartbreak and devastation that life dealt him when his eight year old son Tyler was diagnosed and died from brain cancer.
How can one overcome such a horrific heart break as this? How can one find the right words to comfort a person’s heart in such trying times? There may not be any words that can take away the pain, but a director out of Central Florida by the name of David Nixon took on a challenge to keep the memories of Tyler alive forever.
Nixon was born in Sydney Australia to the parents of missionaries. He’s always been around Christians most of his life, and the word of God was embedded in him by his parents.
Ever since Nixon was a teenager, he dreamt of becoming a director. Nixon chased that dream once he became an adult. He was allowed the opportunity to work with films for Disney, but his love and passion was into directing movies himself.
“I chased this dream of becoming a director nearly half of my life, and almost gave it up until 6 years ago when I was asked by two brothers Alex and Stephen Kendricks for their help in a movie called Fireproof,” said Nixon.
Nixon went on to help direct "Fire Proof" and "Facing the Giants." He believes these experiences helped aid him in the making of his new movie "Letters to God," a movie about the life and death of an 8 year old boy named Tyler who was diagnose with brain cancer.
Nixon also believes this is coming from the grace of God. “Before we would shoot any scenes, we would all get on our knees and pray,” said Nixon.
According to sources, Letters to God is anticipated to be one of the most touching films of all time. "Cancer touches everybody," said Nixon. When asked will he only make Christian base films, Nixon replied, “yes” because he feels that God has given him this gift to glorify the lord.
Nixon said there's a part in the film that is his favorite, and that piece is when a bully kept poking fun at Tyler because of his hair, and Tyler decided to write the bully a letter saying he hopes that he sees him in heaven.
The movie is scheduled to debut April 9, 2010. The movie was directed in Winter Garden a city in Central Florida.
Nixon says the movie is not only touching but he is hoping that when people see the movie they will fill the post offices with letters to God.
