The new series Megantic, which will revive the rail accident that occurred almost ten years ago in Lac-Mégantic, is not unanimous among the survivors and the relatives of the victims. Many feel uncomfortable seeing their story “fictionalized” and fear that this fiction will impose itself as reality in the minds of Quebecers.
” I’m uncomfortable. It looks like it, but it’s not the real story. We are not going to learn anything. It does not speak of those responsible, nor of the causes, nor of the consequences. Ten years later, we are still living this nightmare, we are still suffering the consequences,” laments Robert Bellefleur, spokesperson for the Coalition of Citizens and Organizations Committed to Rail Safety in Lac-Mégantic.
He recalls that just two weeks ago, Ottawa announced the end of negotiations with the 43 landowners needed to build the Lac-Mégantic bypass. In December, a judge dismissed three lawsuits against Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), finding it not responsible for the tragedy that killed 47 people on July 6, 2013.
“It’s a funny thing timing “, continues Robert Bellefleur. Out of curiosity, he still watched the trailer for the series — airing from February 9 on Club Illico — but that convinced him not to watch it. “It only seems like horror, pain and distress. That’s not going to help me through my grief. »
“Me, what worries me is that we show a desire to do a work of memory, but we are going to implant a fictionalized, sensationalist story, in the heads of people who have not lived [la tragédie] “adds a Méganticoise who lost a child in the tragedy. The lady requested anonymity for fear of being judged by other members of the community.
Still very affected, she is currently unable to watch even the trailer for the series. “I’m afraid of coming across it on TV. I’m not ready, ”she says, shaken.
“Me neither, if I had gone through the tragedy, I don’t know if I would want to see the series” admits the director, Alexis Durand-Brault, on the phone. This series, he specifies, “is dedicated to the people of Mégantic, but it is not made for them”. “They don’t have to watch it. This is for the rest of Quebecers who may not know the story. […] There is a duty to remember, and it has to be told by people from here. »
He explains that Megantic does not claim to reconstruct the drama, nor to explain it, but is greatly inspired by it. The series of eight episodes is based on more than forty testimonies from Méganticois who experienced the rail accident, directly or indirectly. “The truth is the emotions that people have given us. I’m not making a documentary. »
Various reactions
Other survivors and relatives of victims admit to being curious to discover the series, seeing no problem with it being fictitious. This is the case of Jean Clusiault, who lost his 24-year-old daughter. “I have come so far over time. I talked a lot about my story, Kathy’s story, it helped me in my grief. But I understand that a lot of people haven’t made it there and that’s going to stir them up,” he said.
“Whether it comes out 10, 15 or 20 years later, it doesn’t change much,” said Martine Boulet-Pelletier, whose sister, Marie-France, died in the accident. According to her, their story would inevitably end up being of interest to the world of television or cinema. She therefore prefers that it be a local production that takes care of it rather than a “big foreign production, which would have lacked understanding and sensitivity”.
I don’t know yet if I will see the rest of the episodes. We’ll see after the first if I want to dive back into it. Is it necessary? I still have all that in my head and in my heart.
Mme Boulet-Pelletier also plans to attend the viewing of the first episode, on February 6, organized in Mégantic. Producers and directors Sophie Lorain and Alexis Durand-Brault as well as screenwriter Sylvain Guy will be present to answer questions from Méganticois. Members of the outreach team — a group of workers from the CIUSSS de l’Estrie — will also be on site.
“I don’t know yet if I will see the rest of the episodes. We’ll see after the first if I want to dive back into it. Is it necessary? I still have all that in my head and in my heart,” says Martine Boulet-Pelletier.
One thing is certain, the support offered by the production, with the help of the local team, made her more comfortable with the process.
Accompaniement
In April 2021, when several citizens of Mégantic expressed their dissatisfaction at learning about the creation of the series at the same time as all of Quebec in the media, Alexis Durand-Brault wanted to catch up. “We had interviewed so many people, we had the impression that we had done our job, that the word had been given, he confides. On my own, I spent every evening on the phone listening to people from Mégantic and explaining our project for the following month. »
A first virtual meeting then took place with the Méganticois, with the supervision of the local team. Afterwards, they were invited to view the trailer before it was officially launched.
“It’s not bad to make a series of fiction, in any case, it is not contraindicated in what science tells us. The important thing is to prepare people well, ”says Mélissa Généreux, medical advisor to the Public Health Department of Estrie.
Some will have negative emotions, experience symptoms of physical or psychological distress, and want to avoid reliving this trauma. Others, on the contrary, will want to identify their emotions, talk about them, and this opportunity must be seized.
The psychosocial impacts of tragedy can be very long, she says, especially with the arrival of events that add fuel to the fire: documentaries, TV series, commemorations, judgments, etc.
“Some will have negative emotions, experience symptoms of physical or psychological distress, and want to avoid reliving this trauma, explains the doctor. Others, on the contrary, will want to identify their emotions, talk about them, and this opportunity must be seized. »
The important thing, she continues, is not to leave them alone with these images, hoping that many of them will show up for the February 6 viewing at Mégantic.