France opens its doors to herEvelyne Brochu is shooting in a new Canal+ TV series Le Journal de Mont

France opens its doors to her
Evelyne Brochu is shooting in a new Canal+ TV series

Le Journal de Montreal | July 22, 2019

Evelyne Brochu fell into the eyes of the French. Five months after making her mark in Thanksgiving on Arte, she has just won a leading role in Paris Police 1900, a major Canal+ series.

“It’s fun when work leads to work, when one door opens and another opens behind,” observes the Quebec actress, who has a lot to thank the casting director who fought to get her to audition.

Evelyne Brochu (Trop,Café de flore) will feature a courtesan converted into a spy in Paris Police 1900, described as an ambitious 8-episode detective drama, produced by Emmanuel Daucé at Tetra Media Fiction and Fabien Nury at AFPI. 

Shooting started

The first under way were made last week in the Paris region. Evelyne Brochu arrived on July 2 to rehearse and try on the period costumes she will wear throughout the six-month shoot.

“It’s never happened to me to have so much preparation time,” says the 35-year-old actress at the other end. “That’s a good sign. It means we want to see things through to the end.”

In very troubled waters

Inspired by real events, the Paris Police 1900 scenario is based on a macabre discovery: that of the body of a young unknown woman found in the Seine. A young inspector (played by Jérémie Laheurte) then launched a criminal investigation that could reveal a heavy state secret. During his search, he will cross paths with the character played by Evelyne Brochu, who is the mistress of the French president.

“It’s always interesting to see heroines sailing in troubled waters and having the strength to get out of it,” she says.

A major production

Directed by Julien Despaux (Black Spot,Profilage),Paris Police 1900 also features Thibault Evrard, Marc Barbe, Christian Hecq, Anne Benoit, Patrick D'Assumçao and Eugénie Derouand. To faithfully reproduce the early 20th century, the services of Anaïs Romand (costume designer) and Pierre Quéfféléan (set designer), both Oscar winners, have been selected.

“It’s a major production,” observes Evelyne Brochu. “It’s expensive to make the times. There are several scenes of crowds, social gatherings, castles…”

Round-trips

Evelyne Brochu, who gave birth to her first child last year, will make a few round trips from Montreal to Paris come January. After each month of shooting on French soil, she will cross the Atlantic again to spend a few weeks in Quebec, in order to refine her first album of songs, which should be released this fall.

And after this blitz of work on two different continents, she will begin the rehearsals of Three Sisters, the adaptation of a play by Chekhov that will be presented at Théâtre du Nouveau-Monde in Montreal in March.