If you have been near downtown Sackville, you may have noticed a film crew and set working in and around the Bill Johnstone Memorial Park and Rod Allen Co. The film production is working on a new Radio-Canada television show titled Bedaine, a French superhero comedy show featuring local talent such as French Nova Scotian Ryan Doucette. Doucette works as a stand-up comedian, writer, and actor who has previously directed television shows such as Le sens du punch and Les quatre coins de l’assiette. Not only is Doucette the creator of the concept of Bedaine, but he is also the lead actor and creative writer for the project. Earlier this week I had the chance to talk with him about the project, his relationship to the character, and how Sackville became the home of Bedaine.
I asked Doucette to elaborate on Bedaine. Doucette describes the story as “a small-town hero who has to go back to his town after a horrible accident that happened to him. Because he is in a small town there is nothing for him to do, so he gets lost in the depression of it all, starts bad habits, and eventually loses the ability to fly.” Continuing, He encouraged those who watch the series to expect “an exploration on how humans operate,” as well a show which is “funny,” “dark,” and “dramatic.”
Doucette will be playing the main character, Le Moineau, a retired super-hero who is now an alcoholic recluse who quit after the death of his partner, Roxy Ruby. Doucette elaborated on being the writer and actor “Because I wrote this character out, it is easier to access”. Le Moineau is now mocked by the townspeople, who call him Bedaine, which is French for fat stomach. Doucette’s character will have to come out of retirement and save his town. He stated that, for previous roles he has formed a relationship with the character, however for other projects, “you have to find it for yourself.” On the creation of Bedaine, Doucette said there are “more stakes in the game” and how he has enjoyed collaborating with the directors and producers. Doucette feels that his investment is “deeper”.
You may be wondering why Doucette has chosen to bring this story to the Maritimes, more importantly to the town of Sackville. He states that the story “could exist anywhere and everywhere. It does not need to live in the Maritimes, it could be in any small town in the world, it just happens that this one is in the Maritimes.” As for Sackville, Doucette comments on “The aesthetic! I love how [Sackville] looks and feels, and it had everything I wanted. It is not a big city, but it is not this desolate town, things are moving. It was exactly what I had in my head.”
Outside of Sackville, Bedaine is being filmed in Bouctouche and Moncton until early October. Doucette expressed how proud he was of the team, and how “we [production] have worked hard for it to be the best it can possibly be.” Bedaine will be released next spring for Radio-Canada on ‘ICI Tou.tv EXTRA’.
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