(If you would like to see what I've been up to, I've attached above a recent movie I made outside of my production classes in New York).

Director's Statement

Sammy LeMieur here!

I’ll be making my thesis short film during my senior year at New York University. I am grateful for the opportunity to cultivate my passion for making movies at NYU, and decided to pay homage to my roots and shoot in Minnesota at the end of March, 2024.

This project is about a dead man who has a second chance at living a better life on earth. After receiving this great fortune, he encounters a series of obstacles leaving him wondering if he’s meant to be in this world. Told through a comedic lens, with religious undertones, the story is one of overcoming grief, accepting death, and the truth behind one's divine destiny. The themes and setting are personal to me, and I am excited to fictionalize them into a story that can be accessible to many!

As many may know, my family runs a funeral business in Little Falls, which is primarily where the filming will take place, with some shooting in my hometown of Crosby. My goal is to capture the authentic detail of America's Heartland. Since moving to New York, I quickly realized how it is truly distinguished to grow up in small town Minnesota; this environment rarely sees the screen, yet I feel its traditional and timeless imagery is the absolute perfect place tell my story.

I will be traveling with my hand-picked crew of nine other talented filmmakers, many of whom I’ve collaborated with since my first semester. I’ve become better at my craft because of them. And I hope in some small way, they will say the same of their time spent with me.

Why Support This Project?

We need your support to make this film possible. While we're making full use of the resources at the school, a large part of our thesis assignment is crowdfunding for the film’s costs. We will need to rent the necessary equipment, and I will be enlisting the help of a crew that needs to be fed, housed, and transported during the week-long production. I hope you'll consider a donation, knowing we will work our absolute hardest to execute this project to its fullest!

Thank you all. 

Kind Regards, 
Sammy LeMieur