“Castle life”: how to talk to children about the 2015 attacks

“Castle life”: how to talk to children about the 2015 attacks
“Castle life”: how to talk to children about the 2015 attacks

When Violette, 8 years old, becomes a ward of the nation overnight in 2015, she is placed with an uncle she does not know. Not very salesy, this scenario? However, it is this subject that won the call for projects from Télévisions, which wanted to feature young contemporary heroines, too absent from its broadcasts.

“Personally, I was very affected by the attacks of 2015, and I wondered how to talk to children about what had happened. France Télévisions followed me immediately when I took November 2015 as a starting point. What was important for me was to make a series on resilience and mourning”reveals Clémence Madeleine-Predrillat, the author.

This short film became the pilot of a series of six episodes which will touch young and old with its delicate treatment of loss and the vagaries of life that continues. “I didn’t want to move on after the first episode. She’s a little girl who has anxiety, who lost her parents in dramatic circumstances and who still tries to make her world work.”continues the screenwriter.

“I wanted to tell the story of how children can feel in danger”

Violette is placed by a social worker with an uncle, an outcast in her own family. Chosen by his late sister just in case, Régis, a former classical dancer, has become a maintenance worker at the Palace of , where he occupies a bachelor’s house which does not meet any standards. Devastated by grief, the man and the little girl go to become a family, constrained and forced.

“I wanted to tell the story of how children can feel unsafe due to changescontinues Clémence Madeleine-Predrillat. What happens when you lose your house? How do you define yourself in a new school? What are the other children told about her orphan status? Violette has experienced so much that she wants nothing to change, she wants things to be static, whereas life is movement. I wanted to accompany her without her being gloomy all the time. She has plenty of moments where she is very funny. But she is still a character who is in a form of resistance, because she was very shocked. »

The designer Nathaniel H’Limi is the first reader of Clémence’s stories. “Although we have a lot of conversations about the narrative, I don’t intervene on the script”he confides. In a few strokes and colors, the graphic designer recreates the Place de la République, during the tribute to the victims of the attacks. And the decor is striking. The Palace of Versailles, the heroine’s new place of life, also becomes a character in its own right which, in turn, protects and intrigues her.

“My mentor Joann Sfar told me:Draw from nature.” So I took a lot of photos of the castle and gardens. I also did a lot of mapping work to stick as closely as possible to reality. It is a fascinating place, which has been shaped by thousands of people. I wanted to transcribe these works. It added poetry. » he explains.

A scenario of great accuracy, enhanced by the graphics

“The first phase of my work is observation. The drawing line should express a feeling. This involves the tools used such as the pen and the Rotring, particularly for the decorations of the first episode. The imperfection of the brush which has dried will cause a sort of accident and this can bring tenderness to the drawing. The line will be more sensitive. For this very delicate subject, I wanted to draw the line like those of Sempé and Hergé. »

Violette works in her uncle’s workplace and meets the castle curator, a guide, and a cleaning lady. “We also wanted to showcase different professions in the castlecontinues Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat. And show their work in a real way. We were keen not to be too dramatic, even if we are talking about upsetting events like attacks and floods. It’s a backstory, but we had to stay on the side of this little girl and her uncle. »

Mission accomplished! The viewer is indeed on Violette’s side throughout her journey… with her grandparents, in her new school. And when she pedals at night with her headlamp in the Hall of Mirrors, we start wanting to be with her. The scenario, of great accuracy, sublimated by the graphics, gives a series of animation to enjoy without moderation, a true guide for the life after. Adults will enjoy recognizing the voices of Frédéric Pierrot, Ariane Ascaride, Jacques Weber, Anne Alvaro and Thierry Lhermitte.

Castle lifeFranceTV Okoo.

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