« Paroles » in Le Grand-Bornand

“Dear listeners,

Welcome to Le Grand-Bornand, a village nestling at an altitude of 950 metres in the heart of the Aravis mountains in Haute-Savoie.
My name is Antoine Guillaume, I’m 38 years old and a local boy, as they say.
My family on my mother’s side have lived in the valley for centuries.
I’d like to tell you a story, the story of this village, the story of a generation who lived in the mountains before the arrival of tourism.
The main character is called Jeannine, my grandmother. She is 94 years old.
You will also hear the voices of Firmin, Marie, Gisèle, Françoise, Joseph, Célestin and Thérèse, inhabitants of the village, the Bouchet valley and Chinaillon…”. Antoine Guillaume.

Listen to the podcast

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A podcast about life in the mountains,
by Antoine Guillaume ,
co-written with Joséphine Pittet.
Musical creation, mixing and editing: Thomas Dilis.
Illustrations by Pierre Amoudry.

With the kind participation of Gisèle Angelloz-Nicoud, Joseph Gaillard-Liaudon, Célestin Perrillat, Thérèse Perrillat-Bottonet, Françoise Perrillat-Collomb, Jeannine, Firmin and Marie Rey, and the 2023-2025 Municipal Youth Council.

Spearheaded by Antoine Guillaume, associate artist and initiator of the project, in close collaboration with the Associative Life department of Le Grand-Bornand town hall, the Culture Heritage/La Source unit of Le Grand-Bornand tourism, Espace Grand-Bo and DOKA Production, “Paroles au Grand-Bornand” brought together several generations of local people over the course of 2025, with an artist from their village, to tell the story of their region (then and now).

The “Paroles au Grand-Bornand” project involved local residents and those involved in the cultural life of the village (schools, the Municipal Youth Council, the Bornandin Heritage Association, the Elders’ Club, Atelier à l’Envers, etc.), with a twofold aim: to understand where we come from, thanks to a collection of oral testimonies from our elders, and to think about the future by working with schoolchildren.

“Paroles au Grand-Bornand” began as a circus and documentary theatre show written and performed by Antoine Guillaume, accompanied by dancer and choreographer Mélanie Manoutsis, musician and composer Bertrant Boulot, and classes of CE2/CM2 from the Chinaillon school and CM1/CM2 from the St Jean-Baptiste school, before becoming a radio programme.

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