© Vincent van den Hoogen
MEET PETER R. DE VRIES, A REPORTER TURNED CRIMEFIGHTER, WHO STEPPED IN WHEN JUSTICE DID NOT
On 6 July 2021, Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries was shot five times. He died three weeks later. Soon thereafter we began work on a documentary series about his life and times. Yet no one expected the project to keep unfolding and resist completion. There are numerous explanations for this, but one stands out above the rest. Most stories eventually submit to structure, revealing a beginning, a middle, and an end. This one refuses. The life and times of Peter R. de Vries cannot be arranged at will. He zigzags, doubles back, contradicts and reaffirms himself, and stays ahead of us storytellers, as if looking over his shoulder, saying, “Catch me if you can”. What initially caused frustration has revealed itself as an invitation: to follow a story that insists on being pursued as a life actually lived, full of wonderful and unruly idiosyncrasies.
© Vincent van den Hoogen
IT'S STORIES LIKE PETER'S THAT DRIVE LES LEMONS. WE ARE COMMITTED TO FUELING PEOPLE’S CURIOSITY
We are storytellers and documentary film is our core business. But in a world which is changing at such a dazzling speed, we firmly believe in shapeshifting. We like to tell our stories in cinema, on television, at streaming platforms or public televison channels, through moving images and photography, in books, magazines, cafés and restaurants. And even on a T-shirt.
Publicity Cannabis (Topkapi Nonfiction)
ARE WE JUST ONE THING?
We are not merely defined by one aspect of ourselves, but rather by a myriad of factors that shape our identities. From our cultural backgrounds to our personal beliefs, from our roles in society to our ever-evolving aspirations, we are not just one thing; we are infinitely more.
Welcome to Les Lemons: a powerhouse of ideas and storytelling. Any role within the universe of nonfiction fits us. Whether as writers or directors, as showrunners or as producers, we offer expertise to forge meaningful partnerships.
On this website, you’ll find a rich tapestry of stories, op-eds, and anecdotes that capture the essence of who we are: incessantly curious. This curiosity led to the founding of Les Lemons, driven by our profound belief in the transformative power of stories. Come and see.
The Crown © Netflix
WHY I CRY SO EASILY
I cry easily. Not at funerals, not at airports, not even at real tragedies. I cry at television. Lately, I’ve begun to suspect that my strongest feelings aren’t signs of truth, but signs of habit. What if the stories that move me most are simply the ones that fit me best? I started wondering about this the night I cried watching the first two episodes of The Crown on Netflix. Nothing tragic had happened. No one important died. And yet there I was, moved beyond reason, as if the show knew something about me I hadn’t yet admitted: that what moves me most is not the world itself, but the private archive I bring to it.
Tito's Bunker (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2025)
MORAL SUPERIORITY FOR BEGINNERS
Driving through Bosnia, on the narrow road from Mostar to Sarajevo, I paused in Konjic, an otherwise insignificant town set amid truly majestic scenery. The mountains rise abruptly and without apology, and a restless river cuts the place neatly in half. A few kilometers outside town lies a bunker, twenty-six years in the making, an underground labyrinth constructed during the Cold War for a leadership that expected to require an escape from the entire planet. It promised safety, secrecy, and plumbing that still works better than the politics above ground. The scene seemed simple enough. It wasn’t. Some stories begin with people; others with an inconspicuous door in a mountain. This one begins with both.
Brian Mizer (Washington DC, 2018)
STANDING ALONE
A brief encounter in Washington, D.C. brought together two seemingly unrelated moments in American history; a contemporary courtroom battle over torture and rendition and the long-suppressed testimony of My Lai. Decades apart, men faced the same stark question: whether to remain loyal to a system or to break ranks in defense of principle. Their choices carried consequences that few around them understood, inviting hostility instead of gratitude. What binds these stories is the burden borne by those who refuse silence when power demands it. This account is ultimately about the courage required to choose the harder path, to speak when it is safer to look away, and to accept the loneliness that follows.
American Progress (John Gast, 1872)
THE CASE FOR TRUMP
For years I assumed American Exceptionalism was a relic of the 19th century. Today I don’t know for sure. America has perfected the art of self-adoration to such an extent that even its modesty sounds like a victory parade. The country doesn’t merely enter a room; it declares the room liberated and charges admission. Meanwhile, the rest of us watch from the bleachers, grateful for the popcorn and quietly wondering why the show requires so many explosions. This story takes a stroll through the myths America tells about itself, shining hills, manifest destinies, and all kinds of idiotic playbooks, and asks the impertinent question whether Trump is maybe the shock therapy we never knew we needed.
© Criterion Collection
THE DANGERS OF TRUE CRIME
Crime narratives offer a unique lens through which to examine human nature and societal structures, making them a perennial subject of interest and discussion across cultures and societies. Yet, in a world completely overwhelmed by the speed and amount of information shared, a world where the word ’true’ has become a cheap and completely subjective commodity, writing a book, filming a documentary or producing a podcast on ’true crime’ bears more responsibilities than ever. Especially when ‘juice’ is added to insure the attention of its audience, the dangers of true crime become truly apparent.
True Detective (© HBO Entertainment)
NO COUNTRY FOR TRUE DETECTIVES
We are intrigued why they call it True Detective. We understand True Romance. True Lies. True Confessions. True Grit. True that. But why True Detective? The show’s creator Nic Pizzolatto never explained the title of the show nor did streaming service HBO. Probably for good reason, for if they had, they might have put the spotlight on the show’s male fear for being utterly irrelevant.
Tokyo, 2023
IN A WORLD GONE MAD, A THING OF BEAUTY IS NOT A LUXURY BUT A NECESSITY. FOR US AT LES LEMONS THIS THING IS JAPAN
Japan presents an enigma, a nation where deeply entrenched traditions of honour and shame coexist with uninhibited expressiveness. Japan embodies a mosaic of idiosyncrasies, where ancient temples stand in the shadow of neon-lit cities and serene tea ceremonies precede nights of raucous karaoke. The country’s ability to be at once beautiful and tawdry, to hold sacred its traditions while embracing the eclectic and the modern, makes it an endlessly fascinating puzzle.