By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
In a recent Zoom interview with
N2Entertainment.net and select members of the
Critics Choice Association, acclaimed documentary filmmakers Edmund Stenson ("Vote Pop!") and Daniel Roher ("Navalny") shared insights into their touching new National Geographic documentary, "Blink."
This film follows French Canadian couple
Edith Lemay and
Sebastien Pelletier, along with their four children: Mia, Leo, Colin, and Laurent. The family faced a profound challenge when all the children, except eleven-year-old Leo, are diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare and incurable disease that causes severe visual impairment.
"Blink" beautifully captures their strength and unity as they navigate this life-altering condition together.
Initially feeling hopeless, Edith and Sebastien decide to take their children on a global adventure, aiming to create lasting memories before their sight diminishes. They devise a plan to visit 24 countries over a year, each child contributing to a bucket list filled with activities like swimming with dolphins and seeing elephants on a safari, to horseback riding and sleeping on a train.
Operating on a budget of $200 a day, they sometimes camp or stay in hostels, embracing the adventure whether they are alone or among strangers.
They visited Thailand, Nepal, Namibia, Mongolia, and the Amazon Basin among other destinations. While the excursion provided breathtaking scenery, it wasn’t without challenges. From severe weather to a harrowing nine-hour ordeal stranded on a broken aerial cable car in Ecuador, the family's resilience shines through.
Filmmaker Edmund Stenson noted that capturing the demanding terrain of Nepal's Annapurna Mountain range was one of the trip's toughest filming aspects.
A particularly touching moment occurs when the kid’s bond with a stray dog, only to face the heartbreak of leaving it behind.
"Blink" immerses viewers in the beauty of each destination, allowing them to experience the splendor alongside the Pelletiers.
Roher and Stenson, said "Blink" was more than a mere travelogue. They aimed to showcase the emotional core of the story through a child's perspective.
"The film deals with grief and letting go and how we deal with it," explained Stenson. "For us, it was the parents' journey with and through grief. By balancing this with a more innocent and joyous tale of childlike wonder and discovery, we felt we could capture something universal. Keeping our camera at kid-height and intimately close to the family, we aimed to immerse the audience in the observational realities of their daily life, as well as the subtle relationships between each of them. This is a film built on looks, gestures and tiny details—the very fabric of our relationships with one another. Yes, retinitis pigmentosa was the catalyst, but every parent and every child must say goodbye to those whom they love. Every one of us must accept what we cannot control. Every one of us must choose how we want to face the onrushing future because what it will entail and demand of us is an unknown quantity with which we must all learn to live with."
When asked about making a potential follow-up film on the Pelletier family, Stenson expressed enthusiasm. "I would love to be part of it," he said. "The kids are doing well now, but still face visual challenges at night. Their story is just so moving and would make for a great follow up film for sure."
"Blink" arrives in select theaters on
Oct. 4 and will be available to stream on Disney+ later this year.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Look At This Trailer For
"BLINK"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
