Four years after being targeted by allegations of sexual misconduct, director Sylvain Archambault was chosen a few weeks ago to carry out a docuseries on the world of bar dance (” pole dancing »), Which will be broadcast in the winter on TVA.
His arrival caused great unease among the technical team, and the production company quickly backed down. Sylvain Archambault will therefore not sign his comeback behind the camera with the show Pole dance, in which we follow women who have made this unusual activity their hobby.
The series does not focus on the erotic aspect that has long been associated with it, but the fact remains that it is a delicate subject. Especially for a man who is criticized for having repeatedly made inappropriate comments on filming, slice Ève LeClair. This experienced editor gave up being part of the team when the production company, Locofilms, told her at the end of October that Sylvain Archambault was joining the project.
“It’s really indelicate considering the subject. It’s like entrusting the production of a bar crawling series to an alcoholic. It’s risky ”, reasons aloud Mme LeClair, who was also uncomfortable being alone with him.
Under the seal of confidentiality, three of his former colleagues told the To have to they too chose to leave the adventure when they learned that the realization was going to be entrusted to Sylvain Archambault.
Initially, the director was to be Christian Lalumière, who worked on the documentary series among other things. Karaoke, accessible on the Tou.tv platform.
However, he withdrew after two days of filming. It was at this time that Locofilms made the bet to replace him with Sylvain Archambault, who is also one of the directors of the company.
Joined two weeks ago when the first information had started to leak, the TVA Group had claimed not to have been made aware of this change of director. Asked again on Thursday, the broadcaster said he had nothing else to add on the subject.
The production company has changed its mind during this time. Director Jeff Proteau has confirmed that he was recruited last week to continue filming for Pole dance.
He did not want to say more about the circumstances surrounding his hiring, however, redirecting The duty to Quebecor.
“Despite the arrival of a new director, I did not want to come back knowing that Sylvain Archambault was associated with the production company, which I did not know at the start”, continues one of the people of the team. technical.
Radio silence
No one at Locofilms has commented in person on the outcry over this decision.
Two weeks ago, the leaders of the company had even vehemently denied having wanted to include Mr. Archambault in their project, despite information to the contrary in our possession at the time. Relaunched Thursday, they did not respond to our calls. It was not possible to speak to Sylvain Archambault.
The prolific 57-year-old director, to whom we owe several successful series like The Lavigueur and the first seasons of Upper country, has been crossing the desert since the publication in the heart of the #MoiAussi movement of a dependent article in Press.
Two years later, in 2019, he admitted having offended people with his salacious jokes and his sometimes difficult character, but said he did not deserve such relentlessness. Sylvain Archambault has never been criminally charged.