Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory in the heart of the Atlantic provinces, which everyone has heard of, but which few, on either side of the ocean, really know. With the detective series Saint-Pierre, which he co-created alongside Robina Lord-Stafford and Perry Chafe for CBC, and in which he plays one of the two main roles, Allan Hawco invites viewers to discover the enigmatic aura of this archipelago attached to Earth- New, which he has been seeing from afar for around twenty years.
“At the time, we were on a Zodiac leaving Lamaline towards Saint-Pierre to scout locations for the sitcom Son of a Critch and when we arrived, our passports were stamped directly on the platform,” he says. The charm works. “I walked a lot that day and my mind was completely overwhelmed. Everything about this island blew me away, with its uniqueness. » The idea of Saint-Pierre is quick to make headway, in order, among other things, to highlight “this place that no one had yet noticed visually,” he says.
Allan Hawco is delighted that the “almost magical” filming of the series has confirmed his intention. “The weather, the way the light hits the ground in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, it’s so cinematic,” he emphasizes. A revelation. In fact, this overseas France is not only where the story takes place, but a character in its own right, imbued with the atmosphere that reigns there. “It’s like Newfoundland, but smaller. There are very friendly people, but never pretending, because the proximity means that there is no need to hide what you feel. You just say it,” explains the Avalon Peninsula native. “It’s a bit like we’re cousins. » And Joséphine Jobert, her colleague on screen, adds: “We were constantly told: “You are at home, here.” »
This evokes a population of some 6,000 warm souls and, above all, who live as they wish, a special French microcosm. “I found it great, because we live in big cities with a different rhythm, where cafes open at 5 a.m., for example. There, they don’t care. They open when they open,” says the actress. Enough to put your feet back on the ground for a moment.
In order to convey this very special island atmosphere, Allan Hawco spent a lot of time in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon over the last two years. Alone, writing, walking, driving, looking at the horizon or relaxing at Le Rustique, one of the few bars in the area. “I just wanted to be there, to think about what the universe of the series could look like, what world could emerge from a fiction inspired by such a place,” he says. If part of what is shown to the public is intended to be as authentic as possible, another is in fact straight from the imagination of its creators, stimulated by this extraordinary place, shaped by the winds, the fog , blizzards and sea air.
-Make waves
Such a setting therefore proved to be an idyllic setting for telling the story of Inspector Fitz, of the Royal Newfoundland Police, exiled to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon after investigating the questionable activities of a political figure. of St. John’s and who must now collaborate with the deputy chief of the local police, Geneviève Archambault, to elucidate several crimes. “Having Joséphine with us was a real gift, because she is neither Quebec nor Acadian, but very French,” explains Allan Hawco. The concern for consistency, always. “We imagined what it would be like if a corrupt man could control the police,” he then confides. For its part, “Arch” gradually introduces viewers to the plot and guides Fitz through the colorful streets of Saint-Pierre. “Even if it is a fictionalized version of this place, we tried to keep a touch of local color while avoiding falling into caricature,” adds the creator of the series.
“We got up early, we filmed in the cold, in the rain, but we laughed all the time, at everything,” relates Joséphine Jobert. In this way, Saint-Pierre manages, from time to time, to be light. Thanks to the cultural subtleties, in particular, and the misunderstandings that the diversity of languages sometimes implies, the series being English-speaking in an environment which is not. “Everyone pitched in so that Fitz could conduct his investigation in English, while people spoke French among themselves. That’s the concept.” The fiction is even more involved. “In our Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, there are many immigrants who come from the United States, Newfoundland or elsewhere. These people therefore naturally express themselves in English,” he notes. A little cheating which confirms that it is indeed a question of an invention from scratch written by foreigners, not a documentary.
“It’s really a magnificent place,” finally says Allan Hawco, who hopes to pique the curiosity of those who follow the odyssey Saint-Pierre. “It is an honor and a privilege to be able to open a window on Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon,” he concludes.
