Actress Ayana O’Shun did her best to portray Haitian refugee Rosena Jean in the series The rebels from Club illico.
She felt “obliged to pay homage” to the immigrants who, like her own parents, left the pearl of the West Indies in the hope of a better life.
Ayana O’Shun was originally hired as an advisor to Les Révoltés author Anita Rowan’s Haitian community, but she was eventually invited to audition. She took on the key role of Rosena Jean, who we follow in the 10 episodes of the first season directed by Louis Choquette.
Lawyer Éléonore St-Laurent (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse) talks to her client Rosena Jean (Ayana O’Shun). PHOTO PROVIDED BY CLUB ILLICO
The Montreal-born 35-year-old actress visited the Maison d’Haïti before filming to discuss with adopted Quebecers to avoid portraying Rosena Jean in a “cartoonish” way. Her character fled her abusive husband Jude Baillargeau (Rodney Alexandre), who is connected to a street gang in Haiti. She applied for refugee status after passing through Roxham Road two years earlier. She has since given birth to a baby boy.
“I was right to go there because the people I met came from several countries, including some who had come via Roxham Road. They are truly people with deep dignity who do everything to integrate,” she testified.
Ayana’s mother, who died last March after a “short illness,” was able to fulfill her bet by settling in Quebec. The 75-year-old woman worked as a nurse and owned her own home in Laval, where she raised her two daughters.
Rosesa Jean again with her lawyer. PHOTO PROVIDED BY CLUB ILLICO
She even worked on Roxham Road assessing the health of new arrivals. “At the end of her life my mother was one of the first faces refugees saw on Roxham Road. Some people she met, including 70-year-old women, had come on foot from Chile, she told me. These women were on the move for months.”
Ayana O’Shun’s mother, who desperately wanted to see her daughter’s work in The Rebels, unfortunately didn’t get that chance before she took her last breath. “I hope that wherever she is she’s happy with what I’ve done.”
Balance between victim and heroine
Rosena Jean therefore requests asylum in Canada in the story produced by Fabienne Larouche and Michel Trudeau of Aetios Productions in collaboration with Quebecor Content. However, the heavy and complex bureaucracy means that we want to send them back to Haiti for the formalities.
“Rosena is trying to bring her story to life in order to stay here. “She doesn’t always tell the truth, but I understand why she does that,” said her interpreter, recalling: “She integrated very well.”
Ayana O’Shun during the press screening of “The Rebels” on September 19th. MARIO BEAUREGARD/AGENCE QMI
“She is afraid of her husband, of the street gangs in Haiti and of the political system. It is unthinkable for them to return there with their children. She goes through difficult things week after week, but we tried to find a balance between the victim and the heroine. I didn’t want to play a woman who was pitiful.”
The lawyer Éléonore St-Laurent (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse) and the journalist Jacob Gravel-Duquette (Pier-Luc Funk), two spirited young people who care about those left behind, will support Rosena in her efforts before the Immigration Commission. Let’s assume that the twists multiply as the episodes progress.
The journalist Jacob Gravel-Duquette (Pier-Luc Funk) and the lawyer Éléonore St-Laurent (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse) come to Rosena Jean’s aid in the 10 episodes of the first season of the series “Les révoltés”. PHOTO BY KARL JESSY, PROVIDED BY CLUB ILLICO
A “new impetus” for his career
To date, this is “the most important role” for Ayana O’Shun, who began acting “on the side” as one pursues a hobby.
Ayana O’Shun originally wanted to become a director – which she is – but she was also advised to take up acting so that she could direct the actors better later. From one thread to the next, she has enjoyed engaging with the characters so much that she now manages both careers at the same time. She also continues to promote her documentary The Myth of the Black Woman.
The 10 episodes of the first season of the series Les Révoltés are available on Club illico.