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00:00Well, so great to be joined by the directors of Blink, Edmund Stenson and Daniel Rohr,
00:14and by Edith LeMay, the mother of these beautiful children.
00:18Thank you so much for being with us.
00:20Thanks for having us, Matt.
00:21It's a pleasure.
00:23Edith, I was wondering, was there a process of accepting the idea that a big camera crew,
00:32or maybe not a big camera crew, but a camera crew would be following you around the world?
00:36I mean, that's a major lifestyle adjustment.
00:41I think we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.
00:45Actually, I think I was more worried about them coming, traveling for kids, than I was
00:53really with us traveling with them.
00:57And Daniel, you've talked about this film, in many respects, being a family experience,
01:03your filmmaking family.
01:05As this came about, you were in the middle of working on Navalny, the extraordinary Academy
01:10Award-winning documentary that you directed.
01:14And you turned to your friend, longtime collaborator Edmund, to co-direct the film.
01:21Well, it's very easy for me to say nice things about Ed, because I love him so much.
01:26He is like a brother to me.
01:28My dad calls him his third son.
01:31And we've been working together for almost a decade.
01:34It feels like longer than a decade, but almost a decade.
01:37And Ed was one of those rare friends, where as soon as we met, almost, it was like, oh,
01:41we're going to be friends forever.
01:44And it's both a creative intellectual connection, and Ed is so much smarter than me in every
01:52single way.
01:53And so I have a profound admiration for his brain and how he thinks about things, and
01:58just a lot of love for him.
01:59So the idea of collaborating on something with Ed in this capacity, from my perspective,
02:04was a no-brainer.
02:05And I was only so lucky.
02:08We were all only so lucky that he said yes enthusiastically.
02:13And Ed, if I may call you Ed, you know, we see these extraordinary travels around the
02:18world, which sounds fantastic, and I'm sure people are really quite envious of you and
02:23all the stamps that are in your passport.
02:25However, if you're shooting a film as an enormous challenge, I wonder, what were the biggest
02:32challenges for you?
02:33Certainly, I think of a nine-day hike in the Himalayas as lovely, however, not easy
02:39as a filmmaker.
02:40Yeah.
02:41I mean, I think you're right to point out, largely, these places were places I was going
02:45to for the first time.
02:46So some of the wonder you see there, despite the challenges, was very much the wonder that
02:51we felt both through the kids' experiences and purely our own.
02:54But you're right, Matt.
02:55I mean, the biggest challenge for me and Daniel was, we wanted to tell an emotionally authentic
03:00story and we wanted to make sure this felt like we were in the kids' universe as much
03:04as possible, even if the parents' experiences were emotionally anchoring the film.
03:09So I think what that meant was we kept the crew very small, so as to both mitigate logistical
03:14challenges like having to deal with carrying a lot of equipment up a mountain, and I think
03:19that made life easier for us broadly.
03:22And I think that was both a good decision for the film and for just making sure we could
03:27make it right.
03:28But I think we don't have our producers on the phone here, and if they were, I'm sure
03:32they'd say, planning a mountain hike one day before you have to shoot or two days before
03:37you have to shoot is probably the most difficult thing you can imagine doing as a producer.
03:42So I think I was lucky enough to get dropped in and get to climb this mountain and to do
03:46so with our incredible DP, who's a good friend of mine and Daniel's, and do so in a very
03:51intimate, familial way.
03:55And we see this, the bucket list that your kids created.
04:00What surprised you most about the choices that they articulated?
04:06I'm going to guess perhaps drinking juice on a camel's back might be at the top of the
04:12list.
04:13Definitely.
04:14But also, we didn't put any limits.
04:18When we did it, it was actually just a fun activity to just get the kids involved, and
04:23we didn't think it would take so much place in our trip.
04:27So when Leo said, oh, let's go see Pokemon in Japan, we said, yeah, fine, we're going
04:32to do that.
04:36But then we realized they were really into those activities, and especially drinking
04:41juice on a camel.
04:42All the other kids, it was not only Lohan, but they thought it was so funny that everybody
04:47was into it.
04:49That's why we really put an emphasis on finding those activities and making sure each of them
04:55got their activity done.
04:58I think it's so delightful, because it really puts you in the mind of a four-year-old, and
05:03then turning five, Lohan was like, yeah, that's probably how a kid thinks.
05:09I want my juice, and I'd like a ride on a camel.
05:14It all makes perfect sense, I'm sure.
05:18Daniel, during the making of this film, you became a father.
05:22Congratulations to young Gideon.
05:25We hope you're getting some sleep here and there.
05:29You've talked about Edith and Sebastian being real role models for you, in a sense, as you
05:35become now a father yourself.
05:40Can you elaborate on that?
05:42Yeah.
05:43I think that there are a lot of tendencies in this modern age of parenting that are leading
05:48towards this thing of helicopter parenting, really making sure that the parents are involved
05:55in every single aspect of a child's life.
05:58I think that what that does is it zaps the child of any sense of resilience or critical
06:03thinking.
06:06I say this only with admiration, but Edith and Seb are seemingly the opposite of that,
06:11at least that's my impression.
06:13They have this really amazing confidence in their children, in their abilities, in their
06:17intelligence, and they let them explore and learn about the world in a really brilliantly
06:24independent way.
06:26I think that that core sense of resilience and trust is really amazing and mirrored in
06:33many ways my experience growing up, as I'm thinking about my son and the life I want
06:38to cultivate for him and this style of parenting I am seeking to embrace.
06:44It's very much out of the Edith and Seb playbook.
06:50You spend time with her kids and you realize how extraordinary they are, and I can only
06:54hope that my son has a little bit of that sprinkled on him as well.
06:59Edmund, I wanted to ask about the storytelling and how you move this from a travelogue kind
07:08of experience to something deeper, and that has a lot to do, I think, with the photography,
07:14which is both expansive but very intimate at times too.
07:18It was, for instance, a lovely moment where the kids are, the butterflies are landing
07:23on them, and I mean, that's just something really lovely and sweet and intimate.
07:29Yeah, I think what Daniel and I realized early on was that, I think you put it very eloquently,
07:35Matt, that it's about the biggest things and the smallest things at the same time.
07:38And so we felt that, we kind of felt early on that the emotional anchor of the film would
07:43be Edith and Seb's experiences early on as they dealt with the condition.
07:48But I think that from a storytelling perspective, we knew we were in an incredibly privileged
07:53position with these children, and the moment you mentioned, our rushes, as you can imagine,
07:58are replete with moments like that.
08:00And I think, if we think of children generally, they're not people who follow the narrative
08:04logic of everyday life, and they're certainly not going to be ones that follow the narrative
08:08logic of storytelling.
08:09And I think that disruptive quality that children have is one of the great assets we have in
08:15this film, that we have these little moments that don't necessarily filter into the broader
08:19emotional journey that we're telling with Edith and Seb.
08:22But as you say, they're these once-in-a-lifetime windows as the camera stays low into these
08:28worlds that kids make for themselves.
08:30And I think we always, we tried and we wrestled with finding that balance of, well, here's
08:36the emotional anchor, but here's just the purely disruptive joy of the children.
08:39And I think for us, that was always the balance to strike.
08:43And we were lucky.
08:44And I want to make sure we acknowledge that our editors were the principal architects
08:48in making that vision of ours come to life.
08:50I think they brought ideas to us that we never would have had otherwise, Ryan Mullins and
08:55Miranda Youssef.
08:56Like any documentary, the reason it is told, I think, and Daniel thinks so well, is because
09:02of our editors.
09:03Oh, it's really beautifully edited, I think, and I love how you open the film.
09:10I keep going back to the sense of the, I don't know why, but the Swiss family Robinson.
09:15I guess it's just an image in my head of this family.
09:18I mean, you're not stranded on a desert island or something.
09:23And yet, certainly this family adventure comes through.
09:27Edmund, the first time I spoke with you about the film before Telluride premiered, I asked
09:32you about your, kind of your favorite moments in the film.
09:37I want to ask you that again, because I think the audience will be interested.
09:41There's just so many indelible moments.
09:45For me, I'm sure everyone will respond differently.
09:47I think of saying goodbye to Bella the dog.
09:51I mentioned the butterflies alighting on the kids' fingers, you know, some of these small
09:58intimate scenes.
09:59But I wonder for you, if there's a moment or two that really stand out for you.
10:04Yeah, I think I can only echo what Edith said about the nature of the trip and human experiences
10:11and the human connection and there being the deeper truths of the film.
10:15I think that for me, it wasn't a travel moment, in fact, that touches me the most, but the
10:19moment when Colleen, near the beginning of the film, is asked by me and Edith if he's
10:25scared of the future and speak to Edith's point a second ago about how kids are oriented
10:29or not oriented towards the future.
10:31He responds, you know, well, I'll get a guide cat.
10:35And that moment, I remember we were filming in this very intimate, claustrophobic space
10:41where the crew was sitting behind cameras, pouring with sweat with absolutely no room
10:45to move in this tiny kid's grotto.
10:48And it was one of those pure moments that seemed to distill something about the nature
10:52of film.
10:53That is, it's both a joyful reflection of how resilient, naturally resilient kids are
10:58and how irreverent they are about how they respond to life's challenges.
11:01But also, there's a kind of deeper melancholy about that.
11:06There's a moment of both acknowledgement of the future, but also a joyful response to
11:12it.
11:13And I think for me and Daniel, we wanted to make a film that captured both the joy and
11:17the melancholy of life and how they interact in this beautiful way.
11:20And I think that was the moment for me that encapsulated that.
11:23And I remember firstly, not trying not to laugh when he said that, and then seconds
11:28later trying not to cry.
11:30So I think that says a lot to anyone about how much that touched me.
11:35Daniel, you know, your work has been celebrated and you've been at major film festivals around
11:41the world and Sundance, where you premiered Navalny, just wondering about the reactions
11:46to this film, what has been most touching or meaningful to you?
11:50I think the most meaningful reaction was seeing it for the first time with Edith and Seb and
11:56her family, was being in Telluride and turning the kids into little celebrities and having,
12:02you know, every school aged kid running up to them asking to take pictures.
12:07I think that was meaningful.
12:10And, you know, I think literally today, having a story that is just like really beautiful
12:17and, you know, life affirming is more important than it's been in a long time.
12:25And I'm really looking forward to people finding it on Disney+.
12:30Yes, I wanted to ask that, Edmund, the film will be coming to Disney+, and to National
12:39Geographic pretty soon.
12:42No official word then, but what are your emotions or feelings, as you know, that this film will
12:48be shared with a very wide audience in a matter of weeks, I guess?
12:55Yeah, Matt, I mean, it sounds obvious to say, but it's a dream come true.
13:01I mean, to make this film, firstly, to start making this film and to partner with National
13:06Geographic was something that we knew it was the perfect home for the film.
13:11But then to find out latterly that Disney was coming on board to go theatrical with
13:16us.
13:17I think when you make a film like this, and you know, and you have a feeling in your heart
13:20that it can speak to families across the world, no matter their circumstances, I think knowing
13:26that it's going to find that audience online.
13:28And I think I speak for both of us when I say our dream is that come, you know, when
13:33the film eventually is released, that families will sit around their screens or their televisions
13:38and watch it together, grandpa, grandma, mom, dad, mom, mom, dad, dad with the kids, and
13:44just experience this film as a family, to laugh and to cry and to be part of this family
13:49that Daniel and I had the privilege to be part of for two years.
13:52So I just, I'm so excited to hear how people feel, and I just, I'm so excited for families
13:58to see it together.
13:59That's what we dreamed of, making a film that families can see together.
14:03So I cannot wait.
14:05Well, thank you all so much for joining us on For the Love of Dogs.
14:10It's a remarkable journey for the audience, certainly for the filmmakers, and of course
14:17for the family.
14:18And thank you for being willing to share that with people, because we know that it is a
14:23sacrifice to allow cameras in in that way.
14:28We've been joined by the directors of Blink, Edmund Stenson and Daniel Rohrer, and by from
14:34the film, of course, Édith LeMay.
14:38Thank you so much for being with us on For the Love of Dogs.
14:41Thank you, Matt.