Gallagher: Film makers look to create documentary about the Expos

Francesco Giannini is one of the Canadian film-makers hoping to secure investors to create a documentary about the Montreal Expos.

March 18, 2023

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Like many of us, Francesco Giannini and Christopher Blow have always been fascinated by the Expos even though the franchise is no longer around.

They are excited enough that they are in talks with possible investors to produce a documentary to help preserve the Expos' history and have it released in 2024 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the franchise's sad transfer to Washington.

Giannini, an Italian-Canadian, who spends time in Milan and Montreal, and Blow, a London, Ont. native, have made pitches to a number of potential investors to fund the production and cameras hopefully will start to roll in the coming months.

The pitch deck says the production under the Franky Films umbrella would feature fresh interviews and archival footage. If and when the project goes ahead, the documentary is scheduled to feature four episodes of 50 minutes each under the title of Nos Amours: The Rise and Fall of the Montreal Expos.

Episode 1 will look at 1969-1979, Episode 2 features 1980-89, Episode 3 will zero in on 1990-1999 and No. 4 will deal with the 2000s.

"We'll see if someone wants to do this with us. We are in that stage of trying to sell it,'' Giannini said in an interview. "We want to get more people behind us. We need a budget to travel and get that footage.''

Christopher Blow is hoping to make a documentary about the Expos.

Blow said he and Giannini have already figured out some of the people they want to talk with: original owner Charles Bronfman, popular manager Felipe Alou and many players, including Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Steve Rogers, Vladimir Guerrero, Larry Walker, Bill Lee, Ron LeFlore and many others -- along with announcers and media members.

"You could do a documentary of an hour and a half just on Felipe,'' Giannini said.

Blow grew up loving the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers and attended many of their games. When Giannini approached him about this Expos’ project, he was all in. Like Giannini, Blow boasts an impressive resume. Among his many accomplishments, he’s written more than 200 hours of television for broadcasters such as National Geographic, PBS and CBS.

Let's hope this project comes to fruition. Keep up the good work, guys.

Danny Gallagher's new Expos book is called Around The Horn and it's available at Amazon.