Blink

Based in Montreal, French Canadian couple Edith Lemay and Sébastien Pelletier are parents to Mia, Léo, Colin and Laurent. Mia was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at age 7, as were her younger brothers, Colin and Laurent. While spending a year traveling the world together, the family received extensive media attention, including from The New York Times, “Good Morning America,” BBC, CNN and The Guardian.

In her professional life, Edith specializes in continuous improvement and business intelligence. As a former resort activity coordinator, she has no shortage of ideas to entertain her little troupe. She is passionate about sunsets and water sports, particularly scuba diving. During the trip, Edith was responsible for the luggage, schooling, meals, and social media. She is rarely seen in photos because she is always behind the camera and will publish a forthcoming book in French about their adventure.

An accountant by training, Sébastien now works in finance. He has a unique talent for making their children laugh. Very athletic and a bit of a daredevil, Sébastien needs to stay active, with his favorite activities being soccer, hockey, mountain biking, hiking and snowboarding. He was responsible for the trip budget and logistical planning, including transportation, accommodations and activities.

The family’s second mom, funny and generous, Mia loves taking charge of her little brothers and organizing activities. Always brimming with ideas and projects, she’s a true leader. An avid reader, Mia has a passion for dance and the performing arts.

A little tropical storm—either it’s sunny skies or a hurricane—Léo is energetic, wildly imaginative and drawn to fantasy worlds, Legos and books. Recently, he’s developed a passion for “Dungeons & Dragons.” Generous and empathetic, he makes friends wherever he goes.

Half athlete, half Brainy Smurf, Colin loves soccer, cats and trains. He is hardworking and helpful, and he loves counting money. Though more reserved than the others, Colin doesn’t let anyone push him around.

The family clown and the youngest of the bunch, Laurent knows just how to melt everyone’s hearts. His curiosity is boundless, and with him, one question quickly follows another. Always dreaming up new ideas and future plans, Laurent never has a moment to be bored. He loves tickling and is a huge “Star Wars” fan.

Daniel Roher is a filmmaker from Toronto, Canada. His first film, “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,” was a music documentary executive produced by Martin Scorsese. His follow-up, “Navalny,” won Sundance’s 2022 Festival Favorite Award, the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, as well as the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature. His latest project, “BLINK,” will premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and will be released by National Geographic Documentary Films in the late fall. In addition to his work in film, he is an accomplished visual artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries around the world. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son, and dog, Moose.

Edmund Stenson’s work as director, producer and editor spans both documentary and fiction and focuses on social issues, loners and nomads. He recently directed “BLINK,” a National Geographic feature about the Lemay-Pelletier family, who dropped everything and traveled the world after learning three of their four children were losing their vision. Before that, he was an associate editor on BAFTA- and Oscar®-winner “Navalny” (2022), a documentary-thriller about the Russian dissident’s poisoning.

In 2018, he directed the award-winning “Finding Fukue,” the viral CBC success that has amassed over 14.5 million views online. He has also cut award-winning documentary features, shorts and television series in English, French and Japanese: most notably, Canadian Screen Award winner “Being Black in Toronto” (2020), “Ciao Plastique” (2020), “Ghosts of Our Forest” (2017), “Ma vie Made in Canada” (2017), “Sourtoe: The Story of the Sorry Cannibal” and “Retour aux sources” aka “The Roots Remain” (2015).

Stenson is also somewhat obsessed with the Chilean filmmaker and magician Raúl Ruiz, as well as another kind of magician: Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.

Diane Becker is an Academy Award-winning producer and the co-founder of Fishbowl Films. “Navalny” won both the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and the Festival Favorite Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded a BAFTA, PGA, DuPont and the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Her films have been screened at the most prestigious festivals across the globe, and she has worked with companies like HBO, Showtime, Netflix and PBS. Her credits include “Manhunt,” “The Final Year,” “If I Leave Here Tomorrow,” “Belushi,” “Stutz” and the Emmy®-nominated “Tina.” She has produced docuseries such as “Five Came Back,” “Trial by Media” and “Equal.” Fishbowl Films’ slate has aimed to bring urgent and timely issues into the spotlight. They were a finalist for the 2024 SIMA Awards and awarded a Peabody Award in 2019 for “Inventing Tomorrow” (POV) and received the 2020 Sundance Institute/Amazon Producer’s Award for Nonfiction for “Whirlybird.” “On the Divide” was broadcast on POV just prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and “King Coal” was 2024’s POV season premiere and won the ASC Award for Best Cinematography. “The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping” launched with over seven million views in its first week on Netflix, and the show sparked a federal investigation by the Senate Finance Committee. Fishbowl Films’ latest film, “BLINK,” about one family that embarks on an epic adventure after three of their children are diagnosed with an incurable eye condition, will premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and be released by National Geographic in late 2024. Becker is a recipient of the 2023 Dear Producer Award, a Sundance Documentary Creative Producing Fellow, and a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA), the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA), the Television Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

Melanie Miller is an Academy Award-winning producer and recipient of the 2020 Sundance Institute / Amazon Studios Nonfiction Producers Award with her producing partner, Diane Becker. Fishbowl Films, which she co-founded in 2009 with Becker, focuses on unique and diverse voices with an uncanny sensibility that shines a spotlight on timely and compelling issues. Most recently, Fishbowl was listed as a production company finalist for the 2024 SIMA Awards. Their documentary films include Sundance alums “Inventing Tomorrow” (POV), which was awarded a Peabody in 2019; “Whirlybird” (Mubi); and “Navalny" (CNN Films / HBOMax), which won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and the Festival Favorite at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and awarded a DuPont, PGA, BAFTA and the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Additionally, their award-winning film “On the Divide” premiered on POV in April 2022, just prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In November 2022, the deeply personal and heartfelt “Stutz,” by Jonah Hill, launched on Netflix, receiving critical acclaim for an intimate portrait of active therapy surrounding one’s mental health. Recent credits also include the docuseries “Trial by Media” (Netflix), “Equal” (HBOMax) and “Marvel 616” (Disney+). “Maestra” had its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and will be available on VOD in fall 2024. “The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping” is at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and has over seven million views in its first week on Netflix. Her latest film, “BLINK,” about a family traveling the world while grappling with the diagnosis that three of their four children have an incurable eye condition, will premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and be released by National Geographic Documentary Films in late 2024. Miller is a member of the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA), the Producers Guild of America (PGA), the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).