Becker’s own Josten Rositas is inching himself closer and closer to becoming a Hollywood star as locals were able to catch a glimpse of his presence on-screen this past weekend in Champlin.

 

In an independent, Christian movie called Miles Between Us, Rositas played a “Tiger Beat” star that was so popular, he is featured on magazine covers and is highly sought to be part of the next best thing in movie production. His character epitomizes the temperament of a rising star getting caught up in the spotlight of fame.

 

The movie centers on a father (Dariush Moslemi as Scott Bauer) and daughter (Anna Stranz as Gabby Bauer) who have been estranged by the parent’s divorce for 12 years. They find themselves mutually forced to take  a trip across the country in the daughter’s car as she prepares to attend college. Gabby’s mom and dad are barely on speaking terms, yet Scott accepts the “chauffer” role since his ex-wife is laid up in hospital with an injured leg.

 

The journey expectantly starts with thick tension between the father and daughter, then gets even more complicated as the two travelers search their hearts and souls through pain, hope, healing and redemption.

 

Miles Between Us is written and produced by Scott Peterson, a relatively new movie maker whose previous credits include writing a screenplay and producing the 2014 film called The Current, a story of a family touched by violence who move from Chicago to rural Minnesota.

 

Peterson, 53 and his producer wife, Diane of Oak Grove, have shot both their films in various locations around Minnesota as well as establishing shots across the country. The Petersons are part of Northgate Church in Ramsey and when Peterson heard a challenge from his pastor several years ago to do “something possible for God”, the Petersons jumped at the chance.

 

Rositas found the love of acting at a very young age. After seeing Pierce Brosnan in the "James Bond" movies, he was inspired, performing reenactments from the film and that's when he began to see himself as the James Bond character. Since the passion was first sparked, Josten has spent his entire life defining who he is in the entertainment business. Modeling and acting became different avenues to further himself into the business and in 2015, he left his hometown for the spotlight of Hollywood.

 

Almost immediately, Rositas subscribed to mnfilmtv.org, a website for film projects in Minnesota and that’s where he saw the open auditions for Chace Creed and applied.

 

Josten grew up living in Becker and has worked for clients such as Best Buy, Target, FedEx, Verizon Wireless, and other various clients around the Twin Cities metro area. Besides acting, he has established himself as a successful model in Minneapolis and California. 

 

Currently, Josten resides in Los Angeles where acting has become his main focus. Josten makes his film debut in "The Man Crush" in 2016.

 

In Miles Between Us, Rositas doesn’t make an appearance until well into the middle part of the film. From there, he is splashed across the screen in his sharp-featured face that plays well against the soft, demure features of co-star Anna Stranz.

 

Rositas plays the role perfectly as the kind, narcissistic movie star  called Chace Creed. Gabby’s father is a movie producer and is desperately seeking to attain the highly-touted actor for his upcoming film. The affinity between Chace and Gabby is evident from their first meeting and Gabby floats along the scenes in la-la land until another of life’s disappointments rears its ugly head.

 

“Through this experience, I learned what it meant to add layers to a character,” said Rositas. “A character is a boring character when it’s one dimensional. I learned how to make my character relatable, interesting, and then there’s a bit of a surprise to my character when you watch the film.” 

 

Rositas says it was a tough role to play and it made him realize that he has what it takes to be who he is not in real life. 

 

“It’s a weird feeling the first time you commit to doing something that you would never do in real life,” he said. “That’s the beauty of being an actor. I’m choosing a career where I get to play for the rest of my life.”

 

Miles Between Us, began filming in July of 2015 and wrapped up about a month later. MBU is the second feature film from iiFilms and was an official selection in the 2016 Twin Cities Film Festival and the 2016 Big Cross Los Angeles Christian Film Festival. The movie also received the Dove Foundation’s highest rating of five “Doves”. 

 

Rositas is back in California this week after visiting his hometown and taking family and friends to the Champlin Theater for the premiere. Rositas is excited about 2017 and future roles and hopes his fans keep seeing his mug pop up on movie screens throughout the next few years.

 

“It was thrilling to see myself on the big screen,” said Rositas. “One of my visualizations (from youth) was what it would feel like to watch my first movie on the big screen next to my mom and the rest of my family. And that dream of mine came true last Saturday.” 

 

Rositas says he relished that moment and took it in for all its worth. 

 

“I’ll never forget how my heart was just pounding right before I came on,” he said. “I was a little nervous too, but it was great and I’ll never forget that moment. So many people came out to see the film and I was over joyed to see how many people care and support me. I’m so thankful and appreciative.”

 

Rositas has a website for people to follow his acting and modeling career at: www.jostenrositas.com. He also has an Instagram account at: @jos10rositas.

 

This week, the producers announced they plan 12 more showings of Miles Between Us at the Champlin Cinema. The dates are Fri.-Sun., Feb. 3-5 at 12:10, 2:20 and 4:40 and Mon.-Wed., Feb. 6-8 at 4:40 p.m.

 

The Mann Champlin Cinema 14 is located at 11500 Theatre Dr. North in Champlin, MN.