Monsieur Mayonnaise (2016)

Artist and filmmaker Philippe Mora is producing a graphic novel about his late father, Georges, widely known in Melbourne as a beloved contemporary art patron and owner of bohemian eateries Mirka Café, Café Balzac and the Tolarno Restaurant and Galleries. Less known, however, is Georges’ astonishing history in the French resistance during World War II, his friendship with renowned mime Marcel Marceau (Philippe’s godfather), and how together they saved thousands of Jewish lives with a fiendishly simple trick involving baguettes and mayonnaise.

Director Trevor Graham (Make Hummus Not War, JIFF 2012) follows Philippe as he traces his dad’s journey, painting the story as he uncovers it during visits and meals. Revelations are aided by those who knew and helped Georges throughout his life: from his childhood as Günther Morawski to meeting his wife, Mirka Mora, to the family’s dramatic survival during the Holocaust. Monsieur Mayonnaise is a lively, colourful, tasty and uniquely personal take on 20th-century history, art, food and family.