In Fleur de peau, a short film written and directed by Florence Beaudoin and Sidney Pallet, I play the assistant to a film producer. The part of the story my character inhabits focuses on a male production team abusing its influence and position of power to place young women in deeply unhealthy situations.
That is not the film’s only subject, but it is the corner of its world in which my character operates. The dynamic inevitably recalls some of the behaviour exposed through the Weinstein affair: a powerful man surrounded by collaborators who participate in the system, encourage it or very conveniently choose not to see what is happening.
For this role, I did not choose subtlety
I leaned enthusiastically into caricature: the questionable smile, misplaced confidence and deliberately unpleasant attitude. The character was meant to magnify the ugliness of the situation. I was not interested in inventing some hidden nobility for him. I wanted the audience to understand immediately that he was part of the problem.
That made him especially enjoyable to play because he was so far from me. There was something strangely liberating about pushing the discomfort, fully embracing the grotesque and using performance to help expose behaviour that is unfortunately very real.
Several wonderful professional encounters
On the film I met cinematographer Francis Auger-Pagé, with whom I would later work again on Canal 13. I also met Charles Labrie, his collaborator. Working with the two of them often felt like a party without ever losing the focus required to make the film.
Fleur de peau was also where I first met Louis-Philippe Desjardins. Louis-Philippe quickly became a good friend, and we later worked together many times in human-simulation training: helping future doctors and nurses, correctional officers in training and police officers at the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal training centre practise difficult real-world interactions.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Benoît Trousset, an actor with a bit of a Jean-Paul Belmondo quality and a wonderful colleague. Sharing scenes with him was a genuine pleasure.
The contrast still makes me smile
We were filming a scene about a toxic production team while, in reality, I was working on a warm, creative set full of people with whom I would build lasting professional relationships. Apparently, playing a completely unbearable character can sometimes open the door to very good encounters.
Production details
Film: Fleur de peau
Written and directed by: Florence Beaudoin and Sidney Pallet
Production: Jasmine Fournier
Cinematography: Francis Auger-Pagé
Editing and colour: Jeremi Boulanger Blais and Sidney Pallet
Art direction and score: Jessy Thériault
Production sound: Frédéric Larochelle
Sound mix: Vincent Gravel-Trudel
Music: BRUE
Cast: Élleyane Paradis, Cori Griffith-Garneau, Louis-Philippe Desjardins, Martin Blais and Benoît Trousset
