Starting April 17, France Télévisions crews dropped their suitcases in Etrelles, Île-et-Villenes, to film Déter, the new daily soap opera on France.tv.
Produced by France.tv studio and Black Sheep Films, the series will highlight the daily lives of Sohan (Bastien Savarinot), Elsa (Roman Mondoulet), Mehdi (Yannis Khiari), Lia, the challenges of today and tomorrow in the world of agriculture. (Jeanne Hendschel) and Chloé (Alix Dehais) at Angela Duval Agricultural High School. Whether they wanted to follow that path or it was “strongly recommended” for them, these high school students, ages 17 to 19, will definitely learn math and French, but they will also learn to drive a tractor and take care of animals.
While they spend their free time hunting and fishing, Sohan, Elsa, Mehdi, Lia, Chloe and their friends are first and foremost normal teenagers who have to juggle dreams, doubts, hopes and problems.
Last June, Allocine had the chance to visit the set of this series to discuss with the cast, director and producers about this new fiction, which is already promising to talk about.
The Agricultural School: A New Arena for Fiction
At the genesis of the project, Augustin Bernard, co-producer of the series with Tomma De Matti. “It goes back a few years.” It explains before continuing“I was talking to someone who had graduated from an agricultural school. It piqued my curiosity. I immediately saw a pretty interesting arena to explore..”
After that, Augustine Bernard visited several agricultural secondary schools to better understand what was happening there. It’s by finding places”Absolutely exciting“and one”Great variety of students“who saw”A perfect playground for fiction“.
During his research, Augustine Bernard discovered that “This youth represents the blind spots of fiction and society“. The impression was confirmed during the exchange with agricultural universities that have”feeling stigmatized”.
He explains: “They are seen as the last cogs of the school system coach, even though what they teach is interesting and of a high standard. The paradox is that all these young people have our future in their hands, and at the same time we discredit them. The desire to be a hero of this youth arose.“.
Although 50% of farmers in France will retire in less than ten years, Augustine Bernard hopes that through the series some professions will be created or at least open “A horizon that wasn’t in the minds of some teenagers.”
Shorter format than this big sun or tomorrow belongs to us
Unlike Un si grand soleil, Plus belle la vie, Tomorrow Belongs to Us or Here It All Begins, episodes of Deter will only be 7 minutes long. A weekly 35-minute recap will be available every weekend.
If the format seems unusual for a daily soap opera, it has obviously been carefully considered to better suit the habits of 15-25 year olds who already have a lot to watch.
“We told ourselves that it was a good deal to give viewers a 7-minute meeting, but that didn’t stop them from seeing something else. Deter can coexist with other programs“, the producer explains.
A series that took place in Brittany
Although several regions were in the running to host Deter’s filming, France Télévisions teams settled on Brittany. The choice is not as trivial as this.
Brittany, as France’s first agricultural region, with the great diversity of what is produced there, was an obvious decision for Augustin Bernard. Of course, the financial support of the region weighed in the balance, as well as quite favorable climatic conditions, which avoid too much variation from season to season.
It is for this reason that the series will focus more specifically on the livestock sector. In this regard, the executive producer of the series, Jean-Christophe Rouault, told us:We resorted to breeding for the simple and good reason that we shot for it. In December, we did not see any talk about wheat and harvest. Breeding was obvious to us.“However, the program will also touch on other aspects such as beekeeping and aquaponics.
Real decor for greater realism
Initially, the production team first tried to co-exist with a real agricultural high school before eventually moving to an abandoned site. During our visit to the village, we discovered the former Hairies Agricultural High School. An institution that closed 3 years ago due to lack of staff.
For Augustine Bernard “When we were admitted to the high school and also to the former agricultural high school, it was true that it made sense right away. It was obvious because we were only creating reality.“An opportunity to bring life back to a place that is important to local people.
Abandoned, it was therefore necessary to completely renovate part of the school for the needs of fiction. “There were no more electric cables and windows. There is nothing left– Jean-Christophe Rouault told us before specifying.We fixed it in three months.“The teams then built different sets: offices, cafeteria, classrooms, high school student lobby, bedrooms, principal’s office.
A real challenge for Erwan Le Floc, the production designer of the series. “The school is an old building from the 1950s, we wanted to keep the feeling that this school has been around for a long time and hasn’t changed. Therefore, we contrasted classrooms with somewhat dated paintings with more modern furniture. On the other hand, student rooms and boarding school are much more modern. We still wanted to say that we were not in the old series, but in a very modern one.In any case, the bet is quite successful!
There is also a goat farm and a chicken farm outside the school. In this regard, Jean-Christophe Rouault told us that the partner has “Installed a real high-tech chicken coop. The chickens are cared for and changed monthly to keep the chickens safe and avoid problems in the neighborhood... it must be said that about 200 chickens were needed for manpower on the set.
For the needs of the series, the production also needed other sets, such as Elsa’s family farm. For this, the film crew invested in the farms of Aurel and Guillaume, a couple of farmers who were excited to be part of the project.
“We are very happy. We love the agricultural environment. We only see positive things. And pass it on to the youth, we think it’s great. We are happy because it brings a positive side to our business“Aureli told us enthusiastically.
The actor focuses on new faces
And to speak to this determined youth, the production has chosen to hire new talent. Augustine Bernard found itIt is interesting that they do not seek fame or that they have previously known. In terms of character ownership, it’s still great when the terrain is slightly untouched.“.
Finally, the production received the number “Quite an impressive number of candidates“And then spent six months casting”A rare pearlfor each character. After this long process, the audience will soon meet Bastien Savarino, Roma Mondoulet, Yannis Khiar, Jeanne Handschel and Alix DeHaus, who will bring Sohan, Elsa, Mehdi, Lia and Chloe to life.
Enthusiastic, these young actors didn’t hesitate to put their hands on their characters and the world they were drawn into. They even participated in a one-week immersion course at an agricultural college and farms in the region.
What was the most difficult for them? Learn gestures by Romane Mondoulet. Most could learn to tend animals, milk a cow or herd sheep. Others also had to learn to drive cars. This is especially true for Alix Dehaise, Chloé’s translator, who got her tractor license before her driver’s license.
Although Bastien Savarino, Romane Mondoulaye, Yannis Khiari, Jeanne Handschel and Alix Dehaise did not know each other before filming, their connection on the set is palpable. From now on, they hope to deliver the calls with Deter, as revealed by Yannis Khyari, who lends his qualities to Mehdi’s character.
The message they hope to convey? tolerance. “We deal with all subjects of society. We deal with all differences in society: fatphobia, racism, transphobia or even harassment. These are topics that exist in everyday life and that we sometimes talk about without accepting them. On Deter. We in every way We are going. We assume that we can handle the subjects there without fear“, confides the actor.
Pending transfer in the fall, Deter seems more likely to register as an ineligible meeting for the beginning of the school year. Don’t miss it!
Source: Allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
