Story Starter
$397 credited in full toward any package within 14 days
A first sitting to hear them, and to see what grandsaid feels like.
- A 30-minute guided interview
- A 5-minute edited highlight film
- A written transcript
Life stories, filmed and kept
Let your children know them in their own words.
We sit with your mother, father or grandparent, listen to the stories only they can tell, and keep them as a film, a printed book and a private family archive. In Yorùbá, Igbo, Hausa or English.
For families in Nigeria, Canada, the US and the UK.
Illustrated storyÌyá mi máa ń kọrin nígbà tí ó bá ń dáná.
My mother used to sing while she cooked.
The stories we didn't keep
Most of what our grandparents knew, we only ever heard once.
How they met. The village before the road came. The songs they sang at night. The year everything changed, and how they got through it.
In so many Nigerian families these stories are passed on by mouth, at the dinner table and in the car, and rarely written down. When a generation goes quiet, the stories go with them.
Your parents are still here, still laughing, still telling it their way. That’s the gift. And it’s why now is the right time to listen properly.
“I knew my grandmother’s face from one photograph. I never once heard her voice.”
“My father tells the same stories every Christmas. I always think, someone should be recording this.”
The bridge
Your children, meeting them properly.
Grandchildren in Calgary or Houston often know their grandparents through a phone screen and a language they half understand. grandsaid gives them the whole person.
Nígbà tí mo wà ní ọmọdé, a máa ń rìn lọ sí odò láàárọ̀.
When I was a child, we walked to the river every morning.
Nne m kụziiri m otu esi esi ofe onugbu.
My mother taught me how to cook bitterleaf soup.
Their words, in their language, with English beneath, so that a ten-year-old in Toronto can sit with a film and finally hear where they come from.
How it works
You bring the love. We handle the rest.
Most families never get round to it because it feels like a big project. We make it four calm steps.
A conversation
A relaxed call with you and your siblings about who they are and what you’d love to keep.
The interview
A warm interviewer and a small film crew visit them at home, in their language, at their pace.
The film and the book
We edit their story into a documentary with subtitles, and a printed book with their photographs.
The family archive
Everything is kept in a private archive the whole family can open, wherever they live.
See and hear it
A voice is the one thing a photograph can't keep.
Their stories, in their own words. We only share family film excerpts with the family’s written permission.
Illustrated storyMgbe m dị afọ iri na asaa, m hapụrụ obodo anyị.
When I was seventeen, I left our town.
Illustrated storyMahaifiyata tana rera wannan waƙa kowane dare.
My mother sang this song every night.
Illustrated storyẸ káàbọ̀, ọmọ mi. Ìwọ ni ìtàn wa ń lọ sí.
Welcome, my child. You are where our story is going.
Inside the book
Chapter three · The house on Oke-Ado
“We had one radio on the whole street, and on Sunday evenings everybody came to our veranda. My father would turn it up so loud that even the goats listened.”
A sample page. Every book is printed and bound, with the family’s own photographs.
“My son watched it three times in a row. Then he called my mother and asked her to tell him the radio story again.”
Packages
Start small. Every Story Starter counts toward the full story.
Begin with a single sitting. If you go on to a full package within 14 days, the whole amount is credited.
Basic
$1,495
Their story, told simply and beautifully.
- 2-hour interview in one place
- 30-minute documentary film
- 40-page softcover book
- 1-year private family archive
Most chosen
Premium
$2,995
The full story, in their language, for the whole family.
- 4-hour interview, two locations, two cameras
- 45-minute documentary film
- 100-page hardback book, with 100 photos scanned
- Subtitles in one language
- 3 copies of the book and a 5-year archive
Platinum
From $5,995
A feature film of a life, with the people who shared it.
- Several days of filming, with friends and family
- 60–90 minute feature documentary
- 200-page legacy book
- A private family website
- Lifetime archive
Sharing it with your siblings?
The sibling bundle lets brothers and sisters buy together and split the cost. Each household receives its own film and book.
A milestone birthday coming up?
For a 70th, 80th or 90th, we can film quietly beforehand and premiere the film at the party. A gift no one else can give.
Prices in US dollars. Local pricing is available for families paying in Nigeria.
Your family, your story
Handled with the care you'd give it yourself.
Nothing happens without their yes
We talk with your parent before anything is filmed. They decide what to share, can pause or stop at any time, and sign a simple consent in their own language.
A private family archive
Your recordings are never public, never sold and never used in our marketing without written permission. You choose who in the family can watch.
In the language they dream in
Our interviewers speak Yorùbá, Igbo, Hausa and English. Every film can carry English subtitles so grandchildren abroad follow every word.
The recordings are yours
You receive the full film and the original footage to keep. We store a secure copy for as long as your archive plan runs, and delete it on request.
Questions families ask
I live abroad. Do I need to be there?
No. Most of our families live in Canada, the US or the UK while their parents are in Nigeria. We arrange everything on WhatsApp and video calls, and you can join the interview live from wherever you are.
My siblings want to share the cost. Is that possible?
Yes. The sibling bundle lets brothers and sisters buy together, split the payment, and each receive their own copy of the film and book.
Can we give it as a birthday gift?
Many families do, especially for 70th, 80th and 90th birthdays. We can film quietly beforehand and have the film ready to premiere at the party.
What if my parent is shy or forgets things?
That's very normal. Our interviewers are patient and warm, and the conversation follows your parent's pace. Photos, songs and familiar places often bring the stories back.
Do you offer Naira pricing?
Yes. Families paying in Nigeria receive local pricing. Mention it in the form and we'll send the details.
Begin
Your parents’ stories won’t wait. Neither should the people who’ll treasure them.
Tell us a little about your family. We’ll reach out within two days to arrange a short, unhurried call. There’s nothing to pay and nothing to prepare.
“We did it for Mum’s 80th. Now I can hear her laugh whenever I want.”