Filming a family documentary:
Snoopy.

A documentary tracing four generations of a Swiss-American family — from the mountains of Graubünden to Basel, and back again.

My grandma used to call my sister and me "Snoopy" — because we were always digging through her dresser, full of old Swiss photographs and documents we didn't understand yet but couldn't stop asking about.

My grandpa came to Europe as a soldier. He met my grandma, they fell in love and got married. She made the decision to move to the United States — and only returned to Switzerland once.

We lost them both recently. And in that grief, something became clear: the story they carried — the one we'd been snooping after our whole lives — would disappear if we didn't go get it ourselves.

July 9–16, we're going back. To Basel, where she grew up and her grandfather built buildings that still stand. And further — to Präz, a mountain village so remote that only 40 people live there today. That's where her mother Alma's family is from. Generations of people living in the same valley, the same altitude, the same bloodline carved out of the Alps.

We're retracing the journey, interviewing family, and filming it all — in their honor, and for the generations that follow us.

The filmmakers

Marissa

Director & Producer

Shaping the narrative and holding the vision.

Devyn

Camera, Editor & Animator

Behind the lens and in the edit — she makes sure it looks as good as the story deserves.

Our process

01
The SparkA 4th-grade culture project led me to interview my grandmother — and I learned for the first time she was from Switzerland. From then on, my sister and I were always "snooping" through her dresser of Swiss photos and documents, which is where the name comes from.
02
Genealogical ResearchTracing our family back several generations through Swiss civil records to build a clear picture of where we come from.
03
Archive OutreachContacting Swiss state archives to request original civil registry, marriage, and property records.
04
Location Scouting & Shot ListUsing old family photos and living relatives' memories to identify the real places tied to our story, then mapping each one to a day of filming.
05
Family InterviewsSitting down with my mom, my aunt, and even my 6-year-old son to record their memories before the trip.
06
The TripOne week retracing the journey, July 2026 — from Basel to the mountain villages of Graubünden — filming, researching, and visiting every location in person.
07
Editing & SharingWeaving together documents, footage, and family voices into a documentary — and finally bringing the story out of the dresser and into the open.

The reason we're going

Hannalise and Jack — My grandma and grandpa, married for over 60 years

Hanna and Jack with their first baby — My grandparents shortly after moving to the United States

From the dresser

Photographs pulled from albums, envelopes, and memory.

Präz, Graubünden — the mountain village her mother Alma's family called home

Hannalise's Swiss passport — Hannalise Childs · Basel-Stadt · 21. März 1936

Young Hannalise, Switzerland — Switzerland, circa 1950s

Family in Switzerland — The family, back in Switzerland

Photo booth portraits — Photo booth triptych — same smile, different decades

My grandma with her aunt — My Grandma with her aunt

Three generations in Basel — Three generations, downtown Basel

The research

Over the course of this research, I've uncovered 58 distinct images and files — original archival documents, civil registration records, property deeds, photographs, and correspondence — tracing four branches of my family across Graubünden, Aargau, and Basel. Highlights include a fully transcribed 1932 Basel property deed, Zivilstandsregister entries from 1908, Einwohnerkontrolle ledgers from Chur, and a formal portrait of my great-great-grandfather. To get here, I reached out to 13 archives, museums, churches, and municipal offices across Switzerland — 8 have responded with substantive findings, an unusually high rate for cold genealogical outreach — and connected directly with two living relatives who shared photographs, oral history, and document scans that no archive alone could have provided.

How you can support

There are a couple ways to support.

01Give an interview. If you're connected to this family, this story, or are an expert in Swiss genealogy or family documentary filmmaking, we'd love to hear from you. marissafezzey@gmail.com
02Contribute financially. Every dollar raised goes directly toward the equipment for this trip.

Camera fund

$0raised

of $650 goal

Send via Venmo → Questions? Email me

100% goes to the camera & gear — sent directly, no platform fees taken.

Where it's going

CAMERADJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo — small enough for cobblestone streets and mountain villages, sharp enough to do the story justice
STORAGEExtra memory cards for a week of all-day filming across two regions
POWERBackup batteries — long archive days and even longer mountain ones
AUDIOMicrophones — for capturing stories and interviews in the field

Filming a family documentary:Snoopy.