I can't think of a better way to start special Slamdance coverage than with Sammy LeMieur, talking about his film, THE LEMIEURS (2026), which debuted at Slamdance this week.

The logline: Fearing regret and desperate to keep hold of their history, the five sons of a small-town Minnesota matriarch must reconcile her aging, while her three grandsons running a funeral home face death head-on.

I spend a fair amount of time in Minnesota so I can say: this is exactly what it's like. That was one of his goals at film school -- to show people the real Minnesota -- and for him to be able to pull it off, it's an incredible story.

Over the next few weeks, the pod will release episodes more frequently than Tuesdays and Fridays (in theory, anyway) with a host of interesting Slamdance films.

Slamdance is one of my favorite festivals because it attracts unique and groundbreaking films that are still absolutely independent. As long as I have a podcast, there will be Slamdance episodes, and of course, I'd start with Minnesota and filmmaker Sammy LeMieur.

In this episode, Sammy and I talk about:

why Minnesota is rarely on screen and why his film is such a breath of fresh air;
how he got started in filmmaking in Minnesota;
why NYU and if he recommends going to film school;
the importance of creating short films in his filmmaking journey;
how THE LEMIEURS got its start;
what he wants people to feel when they watch this deeply personal film;
the ending everyone sees coming -- but you don't want to see;
his families' reaction to the film;
his path into making documentaries and what his future in the genre holds;
the distribution for his film and generally for docs;
what's next for him, which is another doc that I can't wait to see.

Memorable Quotes:

"We were the first NYU production to shoot in Minnesota."

"You pay for film school to meet your collaborators and...for the opportunity to use the equipment and make a movie."

"I think there's something about short films that really teach you structure."

"What I want people to feel is just be, feel like a LeMieur for 70 minutes, like you're a part of this family from when you sit down and when you leave the theater."

"I knew from the start that it was always gonna end like that, and I figured the audience would know that too. And that was the challenge was like, how do you create a progression and create a rising conflict throughout this story that you know where it's gonna go?"

"I always thought I was gonna be a fiction guy, like with more a narrative approach. But I think like I said they're the same to me."

Links:

Follow THE LEMIEURS On Instagram