The France.tv platform will soon launch Déter, its first daily series which follows a group of teenagers in an agricultural high school. Allociné had the chance to go on the set of this new fiction.
Since April 17, the France Télévisions teams have set down their suitcases in Etrelles, in Ille-et-Vilaine, for the filming of Déter, the new daily soap opera on France.tv.
Produced by France.tv Studio and Black Sheep films, the series will highlight the challenges of the agricultural world of today and tomorrow by following the daily life of Sohan (Bastien Savarino), Elsa (Romane Mondoulet), Mehdi (Yanis Khiar ), Lia (Jeanne Hendschel) and Chloé (Alix Dehais) at the Anjela Duval Agricultural High School. Whether they wanted to follow this path or whether it was “strongly recommended” to them, these high school students, aged 17 to 19, will certainly learn maths and French, but also how to drive tractors and take care of animals.
If they spend their free time hunting and fishing, Sohan, Elsa, Mehdi, Lia, Chloe and their friends are above all normal teenagers who will have to juggle their dreams, their doubts, their hopes and their problems.
Last June, Allociné had the chance to go on the set of this series to discuss with the actors, the director and the producers about this new fiction which already promises to be talked about.
THE AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL: A NEW ARENA FOR FICTION
Jean-Philippe BALTEL / FTV
At the genesis of the project, Augustin Bernard, co-producer of the series alongside Toma de Matteis. “It goes back a few years already.” he explains to us before continuing“I was chatting with someone who had done an agricultural high school. It aroused my curiosity. I immediately saw a rather exciting arena to explore.”
Augustin Bernard then visited several agricultural high schools to better understand what was going on there. It is by discovering places “absolutely exciting“and one”great diversity of students” Who saw him “a great playground for fiction“.
During his research, Augustin Bernard found that “this youth represents blind spots of fiction and society“. An impression confirmed during his exchanges with agricultural high schools who have “feeling stigmatized.”
He explains : “They are seen as the last wheel of the coach of the school system, even though what they teach is exciting and of a high standard. The paradox is that all these young people have our future somewhat in their hands and at the same time we discredit them. There was the desire to heroize this youth.“.
While 50% of farmers in France will retire in less than ten years, Augustin Bernard hopes, through the series, to trigger some vocations or at least open up on “a horizon that was not in the minds of some teenagers”.
A SHORTER FORMAT THAN SUCH A 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, the episodes of Déter will only be 7 minutes each. A weekly recap of 35 minutes will however be available each weekend.
If the format seems unusual for a daily soap opera, it has obviously been carefully considered to better match the habits of 15-25 year olds who already have a lot to see.
“We said to ourselves that it was a good pact with the viewers to give them a 7-minute appointment but that didn’t prevent them from seeing other things. Deter could coexist with other programs.”, explains the producer.
A SERIES IMPLEMENTED IN BRITTANY
While several regions were in competition to host the filming of Déter, the France Télévisions teams settled in Brittany. A choice not so trivial as that.
Brittany being the first agricultural region of France with a great diversity in what is produced there, the decision was obvious for Augustin Bernard. Of course, the financial support of the region weighed in the balance, as did the rather favorable climatic conditions which avoid too great variations from one season to another.
It is for this reason that the series will focus more particularly on the livestock sector. In this regard, Jean-Christophe Rouot, the executive producer of the series, told us, “We targeted breeding for the simple and good reason that we shoot offbeat. We couldn’t see ourselves talking about wheat and harvesting in December. Breeding was obvious to us.“Despite everything, the program will also deal with other aspects such as beekeeping and aquaponics.
A REAL DECOR FOR GREATER REALISM
Jean-Philippe BALTEL / FTV
At first, the production team first sought to coexist with a real agricultural high school before finally turning to an abandoned place. During our visit to the set, we discovered the former Hairies agricultural high school. An establishment that closed its doors 3 years ago due to a lack of staff.
For Augustin Bernard, “When we were introduced to a high school and also a former agricultural high school, it’s true that it immediately made sense. It was obvious because we were just recreating a reality.“. The opportunity to bring life back to a place that matters to locals.
Abandoned, it was therefore necessary to completely renovate part of the school for the needs of the fiction. “There were no more electric cables or windows. There was nothing left“, told us Jean-Christophe Rouot before specifying, “We fixed it in three months.“The teams then built different sets: offices, refectory, classrooms, high school students’ foyer, bedrooms, principal’s office.
A real challenge for Erwan Le Floc’h, the series’ production designer. “The school is an old building from the 1950s. We wanted to keep the idea that this school has existed for a very long time and that it has not changed. We therefore contrasted the classrooms, which have somewhat dated paintings, with more contemporary furniture. On the other hand, the student rooms and the boarding school are much more modern. We still wanted to say that we were not in an old series but in something very contemporary.“. A bet in any case amply successful!
Outside the school, there is also a goat farm and a chicken coop. In this regard, Jean-Christophe Rouot told us that a partner has “installed a real high-tech chicken coop. They take care of the hens and change them every month to keep them chickens and avoid problems with the neighborhood.. It must be said that with nearly 200 hens on the set, manpower was needed.
For the needs of the series, the production also needed other sets such as Elsa’s family farm. To do this, the film crews invested the farm of Aurélie and Guillaume, a couple of farmers delighted to participate in such a project.
“We are super happy. We love the agricultural environment. We only see positive things. And pass that on to young people, we think it’s great. We are happy because it brings a positive side to our job“, explained to us with enthusiasm Aurélie.
THE CAST FOCUS ON NEW FACES
Jean-Philippe BALTEL – FTV
And to talk about this determined youth, the production has chosen to recruit new talents. Augustin Bernard found “interesting not to seek fame or that they have previous notoriety. In terms of character ownership, it’s still great when the terrain is a little virgin.“.
Ultimately, the production received a number “quite impressive number of candidates” and then spent six months casting the “rare pearl” for each character. After this long process, viewers will soon meet Bastien Savarino, Romane Mondoulet, Yanis Khiar, Jeanne Hendschel and Alix Dehais who will bring Sohan, Elsa, Mehdi, Lia and Chloé to life.
Enthusiastic, these young actors did not hesitate to put their hands in their hands to soak up their characters and the universe in which they gravitate. They even took part in a one-week immersion course in an agricultural college and farms in the region.
What was the hardest for them? Learn the gestures according to Romane Mondoulet. Most had everything to learn from how to care for animals, how to milk a cow or how to move sheep. Others also had to learn to operate machines. This is particularly the case of Alix Dehais, the interpreter of Chloé, who obtained his tractor license before his driving license.
While Bastien Savarino, Romane Mondoulet, Yanis Khiar, Jeanne Hendschel and Alix Dehais did not know each other before filming, their bond on set is palpable. From now on, they hope to transmit vocations with Déter, as Yanis Khiar reveals to us, who will lend his features to the character of Mehdi.
The message they hope to convey? Tolerance. “We deal with all the subjects of society. We deal with all the differences in society: fatphobia, racism, transphobia or even harassment. These are subjects that exist in everyday life and which we sometimes talk about without necessarily take them on. On Deter, we go all out. We assume to deal with our subjects there without being afraid.”, confides the actor.
While waiting for the broadcast in the course of the fall, Déter seems more than ever to register as the unmissable meeting of the start of the school year. Not to be missed!