Frenchy Cannoli was a renowned hashish maker and the subject of a new documentary, Frenchy Dreams of Hashish, which is currently screening across the US. Frenchy Cannoli spent 18 years as a nomad learning to make hashish in rural parts of Asia, Africa, and Mexico. After spending years perfecting his craft, Frenchy Cannoli traveled around North America to share his findings with the cannabis community. Sadly, Frenchy passed away in 2021 as a result of surgical complications. This documentary was created with the intention to highlight Frenchy’s ethos of sustainable farming, as well as his dedication to quality sun-grown cannabis.
Who is Frenchy Cannoli?
“I’ve been making hash all my life,” Frenchy said during a speech at the Concentration Cannabis Conference in 2019. “It’s not a big deal — it’s my life.”
At age 17, Frenchy tried hashish (hash) for the first time and was instantly intrigued. It brought him a level of joy and a sense of well-being that he hadn’t experienced before. When he turned 18, he left his hometown in France to start what would become an 18-year pilgrimage to smoke the best hashish he could find. During his journey, he learned how to cultivate it from the communities deeply rooted in traditional extraction techniques. After seeking higher learning from master extractors in Morocco, Mexico, Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, and India, Mr. Cannoli lived in a makeshift home as he worked through eight cannabis harvests in the Parvati Valley.
After honing in on his skills, Frenchy fine-tuned his personal extraction methods. His hashish earned him respect from the community. In addition to extracting high-quality hash, Frenchy also held a plethora of workshops in the US, Canada, Spain, and the Netherlands. These workshops helped prospective hash-makers how to harvest the resin glands (trichomes) from the cannabis plant. As an added effort to educate the masses, Cannoli published articles about the science and global history of cannabis. Upon passing, he left behind two unfinished books, one a history of cannabis concentrates and the other a hash-making manual.
About the Film: Frenchy Dreams of Hashish
“The intention of the film is to highlight the ethos of sustainable farming and dedication to quality sun-grown cannabis shared by Frenchy and his farmers,” filmmaker Jake Remington said in a recent interview. “During filming, California’s cannabis industry experienced waves of change that negatively affected and threatened the livelihood of the small farmers Frenchy worked with. This vortex of bureaucracy and hypocrisy forms the context of the film in which Frenchy and the farmers’ fight for quality — and survival — intensified,” Remington added. “Unfortunately, the mistreatment of small cannabis farmers is still happening today, and, with the release of this documentary, we hope to bring awareness and change to the situation.”
In an effort to give back to the local cannabis community, 20% of proceeds from all screenings of the film – both in theaters and eventually online – will be donated to the Origins Council. This nonprofit advocacy organization serves 900 licensed small and independent cannabis businesses in six legacy-producing counties in California. The money donated from the documentary will be used to support the Lost Coast Farmers’ Guild of Humboldt County.
Advocates involved in the project are on a mission to research and develop a petition to establish one of the world’s first legally recognized cannabis guilds. “We are grateful to the Frenchy Cannoli Foundation for being so forward-thinking in making this donation,” says Genine Coleman, executive director of the Origins Council. “Frenchy was a well-beloved leader of our community, and his legacy continues with the important work of honoring and protecting legacy cannabis farming.”
Watch the Official Trailer for Frenchy Dreams Of Hashish
How to Attend
Interested in attending a screening of Frenchy Dreams Of Hashish? You can find event info and purchase tickets here. Discounted tickets are available for cannabis industry members. Each screening allows viewers to soak up a piece of cannabis history. There are currently three (3) showings scheduled:
- Sunday, August 21st at James Bridge Theater – 235 Charles E Young Dr. East, UCLA Campus – LA
- Thursday, September 8th at Angelika Film Center – 18 West Houston Street – NYC
- Friday, September 23rd at ChiTown Drive-In Theater – 2343 South Throop Street – CHI
To learn more about Frenchy Cannoli, the documentary, or to stay in the loop for future events, check out their full website here.
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