Travelling the world before they lose their vision: Que. family's journey turned into movie

Many people have been following the travels of a Montreal family visiting locations around the world before their children lose their eyesight to a rare genetic disorder.

Now, their story is being turned into a book and a movie.

It all began when three out of the four children were diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, causing them to lose their vision. Parents Edith Lemay and Sébastien Pelletier took the family on a year-long trip around the world to see its beauty while they still could.

"We were so fortunate to have been able to go on that amazing adventure and share it with other people. It's so precious and to see the people's reaction to the film, it's a great gift for us to be able to share that," Lemay said.

 

 

 

 

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Six months into their journey, a Quebec film crew joined the family and recorded many of their adventures. The resulting documentary "BLINK" was picked up by National Geographic.

Co-director Edmund Stenson says it's much more than a travelogue.

"Very quickly, we saw that there was one thing we needed to focus on, which is a family, a very early stage processing the anticipatory grief they feel as they look into the future and think about what might be lost," Stenson said.

"Obviously, this is a film that begins with Retinitis Pigmentosa, but it's much more general than that. It ends up being a film about what do we do when we find out that the future isn't going to be what we expected it to be."

 

 

 

 

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Pelletier and Lemay say they never imagined they'd be in a movie.

"It got bigger and bigger as we went. It's not a simple journey," Pelletier said.

Lemay added: "We feel so much more the relationships to the people we met. It was so rich, the family bond that we had with them throughout this trip."

As they travelled in 2023 and 2024, Lemay posted on social media. Those notes became the thread that stitched together the outline for her new book, "Le Monde Plein Leurs Yeux," which roughly translates to "The World in Their Eyes" in English.

"The book is also about the legacy we're giving to our kids, and she's also doing the audiobook. I know it's something that's going to be lasting and going to be there for the kids forever," Pelletier said.

The learning continues as the family travels the film festival circuit and sees other experiences.

Stenson recalled seeing high school kids running down the street "to mob the children and tell them how much they love them, how much they felt moved by seeing themselves and kids on screen."

BLINK opens on Oct. 4 in select Canadian theatres.