The triumph of the series Audrey came back this week in Cannes shows the extent of the success of Quebec television internationally in recent years. But if the sales of concepts and original programs have multiplied, Quebec still has a lot to do if it wishes to shine as much abroad as the Nordic countries and Israel, which are nevertheless markets comparable to ours.
“Scandinavian countries and Israel started exporting their series before us. They have taken the lead”, recognizes Nicola Merola, president of Pixcom, still moved by the dithyrambic welcome received by Audrey came back at Canneseries.
With two prizes won at the prestigious festival, the producer says he is in discussion with French, German and Italian broadcasters to sell this series written by Florence Longpré and Guillaume Lambert and originally designed for Club illico. A keen interest that Quebec producers would not even have dared to dream of just a few years ago.
Because for a long time it was believed that language and accent prevented Quebec content from being exported. Admittedly, the format ofA boy a girl was adapted in around thirty countries, but at the time it was above all an unexpected success, which did not really pave the way for other productions here.
Quebec producers only became aware of their potential when they saw Danish, Swedish or even Israeli series appear on broadcasting platforms in recent years. Filmed in languages even less spoken than French, the The Bridge, Caliphate and Losing Alice of this world have been able to reach an audience far beyond their borders thanks to their dubbed and subtitled versions.
“But language is still an important point in the sale of Quebec series. Even today, in France, our series must be subtitled or even dubbed. For us, dubbing a series to sell it is impossible at the moment, because it is very expensive. Maybe if the Media Fund targeted a few series that have potential and funded the dubbing… But for now, that’s not the case,” notes Charles Ohayon, head of international distribution at Productions Casablanca.
The production box still managed to sell That’s how I love you in its original version subtitled on the French platform Salto. This comedy enjoys exceptional resources for Quebec, but the budget remains modest compared to that available to Scandinavian productions that are the envy abroad. Despite the additional sums that have been released by SODEC and the Quebecor Fund to support value-added content, Charles Ohayon does not see how he could shoot a series as ambitious as the Norwegian political thriller occupiedwith its American-style productions.
“To sell a series, you have to manage to have budgets that allow you to match what is being done elsewhere. However, the Quebec broadcasters who finance the series have much less money than before, as there is less advertising revenue. They therefore face a difficult choice. Either they finance only a few quality series and they find something else to fill their schedule, or they continue to finance several series to fill their schedule and we manage, ”continues Mr. Ohayon, a veteran of the industry. of television.
Adapt concepts
Until then, several producers prefer to put their energy into trying to export only the concepts, and not the original series in a subtitled or dubbed version.
France is currently by far the largest market for adaptations of Quebec series. In this country where the cinema has an almost sacred character, television dramas were still viewed from the top until very recently, especially since they were often limited to afternoon soap operas. But France is now also caught up in the Netflix surge. And to stay in the game, French broadcasters today have a crying need for series likely to captivate the audience, but lack the expertise to do so.
“What I hear is that unlike us, there is no training for authors in France. Nor is there yet a lot of movement between cinema and television, as in Quebec. That’s why, I imagine, they prefer to appeal to sure values and buy concepts to adapt them, ”says Louis-Philippe Drolet, of KOTV.
Across the Atlantic, Quebec formats have been on the airwaves for a few years, even if the average viewer is often unaware that this is not a local concept. The French have recently been able to see adaptations of Plan Bof Runawayof For Sara and even Beautiful discomfortswith Franck Dubosc in the role of Martin Matte.
At the mercy of the stranger?
These agreements made with foreign distributors and broadcasters now represent a real godsend for local producers. “We know that the broadcasters are caught with loss of income. Other sources of funding must therefore be found. Hence the importance of exporting,” explained SODEC president Louise Lantagne in an interview.
When she was director general of Radio-Canada television in the 2000s, Louise Lantagne gave the green light to series with a budget of more than one million per episode. Today, the average budget in Quebec barely exceeds $600,000 per show, four times less than drama produced in English Canada, which is much less popular.
Ironically, Quebec television has never been as popular as it is now elsewhere in the world. This shows how producers rely on money from abroad to overcome these problems of underfunding. That said, there is no question of offering viewers here series containing less Quebec references so that they are easier to export afterwards.
“I don’t see myself producing a series that would take place in Montreal and in which the characters would speak with pointed mouths. We must not lose sight of the fact that we work first and foremost for local broadcasters,” maintains Dominique Simard, Associate General Manager at Encore Television, who believes anyway that Quebec television content stands out at the moment precisely because ‘it’s like nothing else.