a word from the creator
Back in 2005 I started filming my two grandmothers: “Mémé”, who was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1916 and “Nano” who was born in 1933 in Cairo, Egypt. Both migrated to France in the 1950’s. Back then I wanted to capture both the diversity and the unity found within my two different heritages and it often boiled down to what my grandmas would cook for me. I never feel more Polish or Egyptian than when I eat a bite of marinated herring (usually with a shot of vodka, I’ll give you that) or devour a cheese boreka (guess who makes the best ones in the world?).
I dropped that project when I moved to New York and because my grandma Mémé passed away. But one sleepless night in 2013 I realized that the story I wanted to tell, that of bringing together food, a history of the 20th century and very intimate, personal stories, could be written by multiple hands. And in this way, it could have even more resonance.
Grandmas Project is my proposal to collectively share, explore and celebrate what our grandmothers have passed down to us – through food, the world’s most delicious heritage.
the team
Creator & Producer – Jonas Parienté (
Chaï Chaï Films).
Outreach & Partnerships – Lucie Ouaknine (
Chaï Chaï Films).
Design – Rachel Cazadamont & Lola Guisado (
H5).
Web design –
Studio 9P.
Production team (season 1 and 2) – Adrian Dambrine, Déborah da Silva, Axelle Huré, Violette Ravon, Jules Redlich, Stéphanie Ribal, Sarah Sadki, Aida El Mandri, Hélibert Fini, Sammy Ouakes, Dune Raimon, Lucie Clavier.
Lawyer (season 1) – Maïa Kantor
Translation (season 1) – Noémie Girard
If you want to join our team or simply help the Grandmas Project filmmakers in your region, drop us an email.
