How “Skam France” successfully addresses deaf culture with accuracy

• The second episode of the 5th season of Skam France will be available this Friday at 6 p.m. on France.tv Slash.
• This season follows the fate of Arthur, a teenager confronted with the appearance of "sudden deafness".
• To deal with this sensitive subject, the teams of "Skam France" were accompanied by the International Visual Theater, association and laboratory for artistic, linguistic and educational research on sign language.

A “thunderous departure” according to Sened Dhab, director of digital fiction of France Televisions. Launched on January 6 on France TV Slash season 5 of Skam France , the first season to exceed the Norwegian format, totaled "two million views" in one week. "For comparison, it is two and a half times bigger than the launch of season 3 which marked the moment when Skam France really exploded," says Sened Dhab. This season follows the fate of Arthur Broussard, a teenager embodied by Robin Migné, faced with "a pivotal event in his life" the appearance of "sudden deafness", which tipped him into an unknown world. "We got it right since the reactions within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community are clear:" Finally, someone is talking about what I'm going through "," rejoices the director of digital fiction for the public group. How does Skam France successfully approach this topic of deafness?

"I've wanted to talk about disability for a long time"

"Skam France aims to be a kind of toolbox for adolescents faced with various and varied problems," recalls David Hourrègue. "I wanted to talk about disability for a long time, but I was less interested in motor disability, already seen on television," says Niels Rahou, who oversees the writing of the series.

In France, more than 4 million people are deaf or hard of hearing. "One of our objectives in digital fiction and on all of the group's branches is to systematically seek positive representations from all the diversities that make up the French public," emphasizes Sened Dhab. "The idea is to take advantage of Skam France's benevolent setting to deal with this sensitive and important subject," he continues.

i never would have guessed that the season of #skam on arthur would be about becoming hard of hearing / deaf but it makes me so happy? the representation of health concerns / trauma / handicap was the only thing missing in this series in addition?

"I am hearing, but I have an ENT mom, so I grew up with people around me who I saw communicating differently," says the scriptwriter. Talking about the deaf world “offers representation to people who are represented too little and often badly. I grew up LGBT and I lacked performances when I was young, ”he adds.

"At IVT, I found myself on another continent"

"Finding our deaf actors was difficult, I did not want to fall into the imaginary of Epinal of the little girl with the deaf matches. Condescension terrorized me ”, explains David Hourrègue. We remember that The Aries Family had thus aroused controversy within the deaf community. To avoid missteps, the author and the director requested "an organization" which supported them "in our understanding of this universe": the International Visual Theater (IVT), association and laboratory of artistic, linguistic and educational research on sign language.

“Sign language is still unknown. There is still a lot of ignorance around this language and this culture. Skam France, thanks to its notoriety and its audience, can make them visible on a large scale, and among the young generation ”, applauds Jennifer Lesage-David, co-director of the International Visual Theater with Emmanuelle Laborie.

for #skamfrance fans who cannot necessarily pay for lsf lessons but who would like to have some basics, I recommend the youtube channel "mélanie Deaf" as well as the website & app "Elix" (awesome online dictionary)

Good guys, if you haven't watched #SkamFrance yet let go & go, this season 5 is about deafness in young people & it's super important as a subject!
Big up to @Davidhourregue & his team for their inclusion work, work that we also have with @La_FNAEL

“When I arrived at IVT, in the midst of 100 deaf or hard of hearing people who communicate using sign language, I found myself on another continent. I came home upset, ”says David Hourrègues. “I made them aware of deaf culture. I shared my baggage with them. We sensitized the film crew and did sign language coaching. I also looked at the script from the outside, ”says Jennifer Lesage-David. "Where we were really looking in the same direction, it was in the fact of not addressing deafness from a medical point of view or disability, but from the point of view of being social", she still salutes .

“I was far from suspecting the path and the journey that I was going to make on our perception compared to the world which surrounds us and this famous invisible handicap. I started to see deaf people in the street every day, whereas before I couldn't see them, ”confesses the director.

"We also campaign for the employability of deaf artists"

"We also campaign for the employability of deaf artists because there are and they are talented," says Jennifer Lesage-David. "Apart from Robin Migné, all deaf and hard of hearing people on the screen really are," said David Hourrègues. The IVT allowed the director to unearth two new talents: "Winona Guyon and Lucas Wild, Noée and Camille in the series, who proudly carry the different aspects of this wonderful world".

Why didn't you take a deaf actor as the main character? “We decided to tell the story of someone who becomes deaf. Of the 4 to 5 million deaf and hard of hearing people in France, 80% have become so. We wanted to follow the path of a kid who will know this, who will feel an environment that sends back an image of a disabled person, and above all, who will discover the reality of a world that burst us in the face ”, recapitulates David Hourrègue, the director of the 5 seasons of the phenomenon series.

I just want to take a few seconds to appreciate and congratulate Robin's acting, the expression of his face that pierces you across the screen, I knew he was going to take this season to heart but point I'm overwhelmed #skamfrance pic.twitter.com/OsPWojA6R5

“I quickly understood the need to send Robin Migné, as an American actor, to learn how to sign. Knowing that it takes two years to master sign language and that he won't be able to sign perfectly, ”says the director. “I received training for 35 hours at IVT. Winona and Lucas hastened to complete my training, explains Robin Migné. In terms of preparation, I spent a lot of time walking around with earplugs stuck in my ears. "

"Arthur's story is the story of deafness, not of all deafness but still manages to touch the universal," says Sened Dhab. “The world of the deaf is varied. There are people who sign, others use LPC (Spoken Language Completed), others speak. Some hear a little, others not at all. Arthur's character shows us this diversity. We are not all the same and there is a wealth of resources to discover, ”says Lucas Wild.

“When I joined the series, I was having a hard time realizing the luck I had. I was very motivated to carry this responsibility of representing the world of the deaf ”, confides Winona Guyon. “Currently, there is a kind of opposition between those who sign, those who speak. We, the new generation, we want to break it, ”announces the actress.

"We are radical, he does not hear, so we do not hear"

“The audience had to empathize with the character of Arthur and feel what he feels. The limit of what was acceptable was therefore what he felt, ”says David Hourrègue. Feedback, moments of silence, subtitles ... The question of sound arose from the writing. “We are radical, he doesn't hear, so we don't hear. We try to be as fair as possible, ”comments the director. A choice of staging that sticks with Skam France, which adopts each season a "unique point of view": "It reinforces the immersion," says the director. "This radicalism has been understood by the public," says Antonio Grigolini, director of France TV Slash.

that moment when he realizes that he is not alone, that there are people who can understand him. let him go, start dancing. really magic, power, beauty. I am speechless.

thank you to the whole team for always magical sequences. #skamfrance pic.twitter.com/DjLGg3pP6x

“What was really the hardest part was the relation to sound. There are scenes where I am supposed to not hear, while I hear everything, others where I hear nothing, when I am supposed to hear, but I did not hear because very often I came home too the hearing aids I had to wear in my ears, ”recalls Robin Migné.

"I didn't want an interpreter on the set"

“I had to learn to communicate with deaf actors without an interpreter. I didn't want an interpreter on the set, because it was Arthur's path. When Robin was filming with deaf actors, I led everyone using only my hands, ”says the director. On the set, "we no longer spoke, we looked at each other," adds Robin Migné. "The team has been very patient with me," congratulates Winona Guyon. The usually noisy Skam film set became silent. “Imagine the first assistant who normally requests silence all day! "Laughs David Hourrègues.

you're not alone anymore. #skamfrance pic.twitter.com/xpgqsdLZjM

“I experienced more emotions in one season than on the previous 4! We came out emotionally rinsed from the world we discovered We wanted to show this world is rock, sensual and carnal. Our greatest pride is to see deaf and hard of hearing people say, “I recognize myself on the screen. You understand what I am going through ”. "Concludes the director.

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What is the International Visual Theater?

• “The International Visual Theater, who is 43, was born when he woke up deaf, because sign language was banned in France for a hundred years. Originally, it was the first company of deaf actors, "explains Jennifer Lesage-David, who co-directs it with actress Emmanuelle Laborie.
• Over time, IVT has also become a school of learning and a publishing house for sign language. "We really aim to be identified as a resource place that promotes sign language and deaf art with two keywords: openness and transmission," summarizes Jennifer Lesage-David.
• And to add: "We offer shows with sign language", such as Dévaste moi with Emmanuelle Laborie, "a song show, except that it's sign singing, a discipline that people know little about" or again Miss or Mister President, "a political satire" written and directed by Jennifer Lesage-David.

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