For the first time in her career, Céline Bonnier is taking part in a project in which she is one of the originators. WitchesTVA’s new annual series, “thought outside the box,” she says, and focused on three half-sisters shaped by their past in a “slightly sectarian” commune.
The idea first came about over a weekend with her friends Marie-Joanne Boucher and Noémie O’Farrell, who play their younger half-sisters in this 26-part production. “It always starts with a chalet!” said Céline Bonnier.
Céline Bonnier PHOTO BY EVA MAUDE TC PROVIDED BY TVA
After three years of brainstorming, writing under the auspices of lead writer Germain Larochelle, and filming that began last spring, the series is finally ready to be presented to viewers in the coveted Monday 8 p.m. time slot.
Céline Bonnier has known Marie-Joanne Boucher, her nephew’s partner, for years. Noémie was his playing partner in L’heure bleue for five seasons.
Céline Bonnier, Marie-Joanne Boucher and Noémie O’Farrell on the set of “Witches”. PHOTO BY EVA MAUDE TC, PROVIDED BY TVA
The experienced actress has accustomed us to soulful interpretations. Consider his characters in Unit 9, Monica the Machine and A Criminal Affair. This time she plays the “cowboy” journalist and loner Joanne “Joe” Bussières, a globetrotter who is interested in the situation of women while traveling around the world. Like her half-sisters, she is shaped by her difficult childhood in her father’s commune in the fictional village of Sainte-Piété.
“She’s an absolute seducer and it’s always interesting to play that because it gives me more freedom and I like it,” she emphasized.
Thirty years of silence
Thirty years have passed since Joanne was separated from her half-sisters Élisabeth “Beth” Lussier (Marie-Joanne Boucher) and Agnès Sullivan (Noémie O’Farrell). When the three sisters return to Sainte-Piété after discovering an abandoned toddler, they have to get to know each other again and are confronted with the traumas of their youth.
Marie-Joanne Boucher PHOTO BY EVA MAUDE TC PROVIDED BY TVA
In addition to presenting the drama of a broken family with flashbacks, Sorcières will be full of secrets and mysteries, adopting the codes of the thriller and offering an investigation into the found child from the beginning. Femininity, freedom, sisterhood and feminist themes will also be at the forefront.
“His journalistic reflex will make him get involved. She will carry out her own investigations in order to protect certain sites. “That’s not entirely wise,” Céline Bonnier revealed, adding that the sisters had “obvious gray areas.” They are trying to get through and survive as best they can, the actress added.
Noémie O’Farrell PHOTO BY EVA MAUDE TC PROVIDED BY TVA
“They have retained their reflexes, let’s say, community personalities. Sometimes it helps them, sometimes it puts them at a complete disadvantage. There are still big gaps that they carry around, hide from, and flee from.”
Speaking of running away: Joanne fled to the other side of the world. “She came from a world of lies and set out to find the truth, but she went to extremes. Here, too, she did not manage to escape completely,” said Céline Bonnier, who is also involved in La traversee du siècle, a theater project by Alice Ronfard based on the rich work of Michel Tremblay. We will also find her in the new series Fragments every Tuesday at 9 p.m. on ICI Télé from September 12th.
Sorcières is produced by Amalga in collaboration with Quebecor Content and will air on TVA every Monday at 8 p.m. starting September 11th. The second episode will exceptionally be broadcast immediately after the first, from 9 p.m. the same evening, postponing the return of Alerts to September 18 at 9 p.m.