Frédéric Fournier was involved as a director for the first time Kebec. The one whose resume runs through youth entertainment and reality TV, by F code has Family Feud Canadahas found its niche in documentaries.
Although he began his career working on musicography at MusiquePlus, for several years he has been delving into Quebec history with the Kebec series, now in its fifth season. Frédéric loves to collect ideas, which explains his passion for the highlights of our history and those who created them.
Photo courtesy of Télé-Québec
How does the installed sound work? Kebec Is it important?
We were aware from the start that we unfortunately associate history with something outdated. We wanted it to be lively, far from a conference tone, but more in the spirit of curiosity. Much is about the presenter (Noémi Mercier, then Rose-Aimée Automne T. Morin), who does not play the expert but takes on the role of the spectator. Then by choice of historians. They take on the research and the text synthesized by the author, adding their own knowledge. It’s also about the animations, which sometimes serve to circumvent a lack of archives and bring humor. The texts are important between research and historians to find that tone. We educate without being didactic.
The first seasons were about events and themes. This year you’re going for characters. For what ?
Our mission is to keep surprising. We’re always looking for an excuse, a stepping stone to talk about history. I think of subway station names. Lionel Groulx for example. We know them from toponymy without really knowing who these people are. These are personalities whose legacy is very complex. The challenge is to get into our rather short vehicle. With two characters per episode, it’s quick. We also want to do useful work by introducing troublemakers who may not have received the recognition they deserve. I think of Éva Circé-Côté, Montreal’s first librarian, who did much to ensure women had access to free education.
Quebec has a young history. Which epoch particularly distinguishes us and deserves to be better known in the eyes of the world?
I would say that the second half of the 20th century was very important. The Silent Revolution allowed us to define our identity in Quebec. But at all times, people show us that Quebec has been innovative and has managed to establish itself in the world.
What does the research work for a character look like?
I work with Myriam Wojcik, our chief historian (she also appears on the show). She is wonderful. She leads a team of historian-researchers who are given about ten days to put together a dossier on a character. From then on we know where we want to go. We rely on anecdotes, tongue-in-cheek jokes and whatever else is relevant to the time that might make us smile. For example, to talk about Joual, we looked at the origin of the rolled “r”. Because television is associated with the image, we need to explain concepts visually. When it comes to videos, we are often limited. Some characters are actually engraved, but we don’t know exactly what others look like. Therefore, the animation is important. We also use many background archives about cities, places and times.
We live in a time of righteousness when it is sometimes difficult to come back to certain events and to use certain words. How do you reconcile that?
We have opted for a more neutral stance. We present the facts as a whole. We do not try to hide facts. We pay attention to words. Some are no longer appropriate. We are sensitive, reasonable and open. It happens that for certain more controversial or controversial aspects we resort to very supposed guests, as was the case with Louis-Joseph Papineau with Biz. History is something living from which we are still learning. Ignoring history leads to a repetition of events. You have to know where you come from in order to decide which way to go and to find solutions. The real estate crisis is a good example. It’s not from yesterday. Kebec is important in a context where misinformation abounds. We offer solid, tested foundations.
► kebec, Monday 7:30 p.m. on Télé-Québec.