This Heartwarming Story Is the Follow-Up Feature From the Academy Award®- and BAFTA-Winning Team Behind NAVALNY, Filmmakers Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher
A New York Times Critic’s Pick, BLINK Follows the Pelletier Family on an Epic Journey To Show Their Children the Beauty of the World After They Are Diagnosed With an Incurable Genetic Eye Disease
“Transporting... reminds us to look at each day as if it might be the last” - New York Times
“…achieves a transcendent state of grace” - RogerEbert.com
Today, National Geographic Documentary Films announced that its critically acclaimed and heartwarming film BLINK will debut on National Geographic on Dec. 16 and stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu. Both streaming services will feature a special English audio description version from launch, offering additional accessibility to audiences. The feature documentary from directors Edmund Stenson and Oscar® and BAFTA Award-winner Daniel Roher was released in over 250 theaters across the U.S. and Canada by Walt Disney Studios in October. Produced by Oscar and BAFTA Award-winners Melanie Miller, p.g.a., and Diane Becker, p.g.a., for Fishbowl Films, alongside MRC and EyeSteelFilm, BLINK premiered at the 51st Telluride Film Festival going on to screen at Camden International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival and London Film Festival, among others. Releasing this holiday season, BLINK is a film to be enjoyed with the whole family.
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National Geographic Documentary Films (Graphic: Business Wire)
Hailed as “heartwarming” by Indiewire, “moving” by Variety and “profound” by Collider, BLINK features French Canadian couple Edith Lemay and Sébastien Pelletier and their children, Mia, Léo, Colin and Laurent. Mia developed eye problems at the age of 3 and was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at age 7, a rare, incurable disease that leads to severe visual impairment. When her younger brothers Colin and Laurent received the same diagnosis, the family’s world changed forever. In the face of this life-altering news, they decided to set out on a journey around the world to build their visual memory and experience all its beauty while they still can.
“We were so happy to see how BLINK resonated with theatrical audiences of all ages this fall, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with National Geographic to bring it to Disney+ and Hulu,” said directors Stenson and Roher. “There’s no better home for this film, and we like to imagine that families across the world will huddle around their screens this holiday season and laugh, cry and explore the world with the endlessly inspiring Lemay-Pelletier family.”
“We are delighted to bring this heartwarming film to our television and streaming audience after its impactful theatrical run,” says Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of Documentary Films for National Geographic. “BLINK is the perfect family-friendly film going into the holidays and embodies the spirit of adventure and exploration at the heart of the National Geographic brand. We can’t wait for audiences everywhere to be inspired by the remarkable Pelletier family as they journey around the world and into an unknown future.”
Initially delayed by the global pandemic, the family revised their plans countless times before setting out in March 2022 without an itinerary. They worked together to compile a bucket list of destinations and activities that guided their travels, with no idea too out there: swimming with dolphins, hot air ballooning, surfing, seeing the sunrise on a mountain, and Laurent’s suggestion to drink juice on a camel. “We never found out where this crazy idea came from, but it was very dear to him and made us all laugh,” Lemay said.
The film follows the family over the course of a year as they traverse 24 countries, filling their visual memories with breathtaking locations and once-in-a-lifetime encounters. Their destinations included Botswana, Cambodia, Canada (Montreal and Kuujjuaq), China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Laos, Namibia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States (New York City), Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Maximizing their ground transportation, the family avoided flying as much as possible. One of their goals was also to meet people by staying in guest houses and homestays rather than hotels wherever possible. Throughout their journey, the family’s love, resilience and unshakeable sense of wonder ensure that their uncertain future does not define their present.
BLINK features Edith Lemay, Sébastien Pelletier, Mia Pelletier, Léo Pelletier, Colin Pelletier, Laurent Pelletier, François Lemay and Pauline Sirois. The film is directed by Edmund Stenson and Academy and BAFTA Award-winner Daniel Roher. It is produced by Academy and BAFTA Award-winners Melanie Miller (p.g.a) and Diane Becker (p.g.a) for Fishbowl Films, in association with MRC and EyeSteelFilm. Co-producers include Ann Rogers and Christina Radburn, with Madison Horton and Kelsey van den Bergh serving as associate producers. Music is by Tamar-Kali, with additional music created by Hunter Hanson and Steve Wright. It is edited by Ryan Mullins and Miranda Yousef (ACE). Jean-Sébastien Francoeur serves as director of photography. Executive producers include Amit Dey and Eyesteel’s Bob Moore. Carolyn Bernstein serves as executive producer for National Geographic Documentary Films.
Since its inception in 2017, National Geographic Documentary Films has been lauded around the world for telling timely, gripping and globally relevant stories. It released the Academy, BAFTA and seven-time Emmy® Award-winning film “Free Solo,” the Academy Award-nominated and Peabody Award-winning “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” the Academy and BAFTA Award-nominated and Peabody and DGA Award-winning “Fire of Love,” and the Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning film “The Cave.” In 2024, its slate included “Sugarcane” which has collected 17 awards at film festivals to date, as well as “Endurance,” which premiered in October at London Film Festival. In recent years, the film banner’s slate has also included the duPont-Columbia Award and two-time Sundance Award winner “The Territory,” BAFTA nominees “The Rescue” and “Becoming Cousteau,” Emmy Award winners “The First Wave,” “LA 92” and “Jane” and many other critically acclaimed features and shorts.
About National Geographic Documentary Films
National Geographic Documentary Films, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, is committed to bringing the world premium feature documentaries that cover timely, provocative and globally relevant stories from the very best documentary filmmakers. Its award-winning and critically acclaimed films reach 300 million people worldwide in 180 countries and 33 languages across the global National Geographic channels and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Recent films include Oscar® nominated Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Oscar®- and BAFTA-nominated Fire of Love, three-time Emmy-award winner The First Wave, two-time Sundance-award winner The Territory, BAFTA nominees The Rescue and Becoming Cousteau, and Oscar®- and BAFTA winner Free Solo. For more information, visit films.nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Fishbowl Films
Founded by Diane Becker & Melanie Miller in 2009, FISHBOWL FILMS is a full-service entertainment company with a primary focus on developing and producing projects for film and television. Their collective backgrounds with development, production, independent financing, and distribution across all media platforms drives their passion and commitment to nurture and discover original voices in the ever-changing world of entertainment. NAVALNY (CNN/Max/Warner Bros) won the 2023 Academy Award, BAFTA, PGA, and DuPont for Best Feature Documentary. Diane and Melanie were the recipients of the 2020 Sundance Institute/Amazon Producer’s Award for WHIRLYBIRD (A&E/Greenwich). Additional credits include: Peabody Award-Winning INVENTING TOMORROW (POV), THE PROGRAM: CONS, CULTS, AND KIDNAPPING (Netflix), EQUAL (Max), ON THE DIVIDE (POV), STUTZ (Netflix), and AMERICAN PAIN (CNN). Their latest releases include Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s KING COAL (POV) which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and won the 2024 ASC Award for Best Cinematography, and Maggie Contreras’ MAESTRA which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, had a limited theatrical run in summer of 2024 and is now available to view in North America on Netflix.
About MRC
MRC is the leading independent entertainment studio which develops, finances, and produces some of the world’s most iconic, award-winning, and prestigious television series, films, and non-fiction documentaries with the industry’s foremost creative artists. To date, MRC has been nominated for 111 Emmy® Awards, 29 Golden Globe ® Awards, 12 Academy® Awards and 2 GRAMMY Awards® and its films have grossed more than $6 Billion in worldwide box office. MRC Non-Fiction works with a diverse group of artists to develop, finance and produce feature documentaries and docuseries for global audiences who seek enduring and definitive storytelling. Among their projects are “The Sparks Brothers” directed by Edgar Wright, Zackary Drucker’s “Queenmaker”, “The Last Rider” by Alex Holmes releasing theatrically this summer, as well as Luke Korem’s “Milli Vanilli” documentary premiering at Tribeca and the upcoming “Untitled Sly Stone” documentary directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.
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Contacts
Tiff Malloy, malloy@tiffical.com
Nora Gordon, Nora.Gordon@natgeo.com
Marcus Cammack, Marcus.Cammack@natgeo.com
