Jack Lemay on Shaping Truth With Care in Your Attention Please
- TYREE POPE III
- Apr 21
- 2 min read
At the Milwaukee Film Festival, writer and editor Jack Lemay brings a thoughtful and deliberate approach to storytelling in Your Attention Please.
The film deals with real trauma.
Real families.
And real consequences.
Which means every decision — what to include, what to leave out, and how to present it — carries weight.
The Responsibility of the Edit
For Lemay, the responsibility started with understanding the stories being told.
The experiences of Kristin Bride and other families are not abstract.
They are deeply personal.
And as he explains, they represent the most extreme consequences of a much larger issue — the digital systems shaping everyday life.
That understanding guided the editing process.
Rather than pushing toward shock value, the goal was to create space.
Space for audiences to sit with the material.
To process it.
And to see how individual stories connect to a broader reality.
Avoiding Sensationalism
In a media landscape that often leans toward extremes, Lemay and the team made a conscious choice.
Not to turn the film into something exploitative.
The story could have easily been framed in a way that focused only on the darkest elements.
But that approach would miss the bigger picture.
Instead, the film holds the pain with care.
Allowing it to exist without turning it into spectacle.
Building Trust Through Process
Working with participants required more than technical skill.
It required trust.
Lemay describes building real relationships with the people involved, including friendships that developed throughout the process.
That connection shaped how the film was made.
Decisions were not just creative.
They were ethical.
From Awareness to Action
While the film explores heavy themes, its purpose is not to leave audiences feeling powerless.
Instead, it offers a range of actions.
From small personal changes — like setting boundaries with phone use — to larger community efforts and advocacy.
Lemay emphasizes that change does not have to start big.
It can begin with something simple.
And grow from there.
The Theater Experience
Presenting the film at the Milwaukee Film Festival adds another layer to the experience.
Screening at the historic Oriental Theatre, Lemay reflects on the importance of shared viewing.
Watching a film together.
Reacting together.
Talking about it afterward.
It is a reminder of why films are made in the first place.
To connect people.
A Story Bigger Than the Screen
Your Attention Please is not just a film about technology.
It is a film about people.
About relationships.
About the ways modern life shapes how we interact with each other.
And through careful writing and editing, Lemay helps ensure that those ideas come through clearly.
Without losing the humanity at the center.
Comments