Thomas Deshays

In the wake of Glasgow’s rapid deindustrialization and economic decline in the 90s, a young Fraser falls victim to knife crime and is indelibly marked with a “Glasgow smile”, irrevocably impacting his sense of self and relationship to food.

Thomas is French and has lived in New York for the last 6 years. He feels homesick and decides to return to France with two American friends, Andrée and Adel. He helps them discover his native region, the North of France and Douai, the city where he grew up. There, the celebration of "Gayant" ("Giant" in the regional dialect) takes place. During three days of festivities, a family of giant puppets made of wicker parades in the streets of the city, inspiring the awe of spectators. Thomas and his friends are astonished by the parade, the enthusiasm of the crowd but also by the commitment of the "porteurs", the men who lift the giants. Our friends encounter one surprise after another and meet local figures who share the love of the region, its dialect and culinary recipe. They experience the excitement of parading with those puppets and feel renewed with the assurance that humanity is capable of ingenuity based on common cause and shared values.