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Cold weather, warm hearts
Iqaluit seduces Quebec singer-songwriter for national TV show

Casey Lessard
Northern News Services
Monday, July 6, 2015

IQALUIT
They came, they saw, they fell in love with the place.

"The weather was cold, but the people were warm," said Stephane Rocheleau, director of La Petite Seduction, a TV show tasked with helping guest Quebec singer-songwriter Louis-Jean Cormier be seduced by Iqaluit.

NNSL photo/graphic

Quebec singer-songwriter Louis-Jean Cormier, left, and La Petite Seduction host Dany Turcotte admire the gift Cormier will take home from Iqaluit after being seduced by the city. The stars are surrounded by local volunteers and organizer Francois Fortin, right. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

"The viewers of the show are going to get a good feeling of what it is here," said local organizer Francois Fortin, who led the effort to convince the show to feature Iqaluit. "It's going to break a few preconceived ideas, so it will be a success in the sense of showcasing the city."

Hosted by Dany Turcotte, the ICI Radio-Canada program profiles francophone communities, usually in Quebec, but journeys outside of the province once a year.

"This kind of place, Iqaluit, you hear about it, you've seen maybe TV shows or movies shot here, but the first time you step on this ground, you understand and discover it has nothing to see what you expected. Dany and Louis-Jean used the word 'depaysant'. It's out of this world," said Fortin.

Fortin first pitched the idea last year, but a group from Yellowknife got to the show first.

"They were really excited to come, but we had to secure some funding," he said. "After that, it was to gather all the volunteers together. It's a lot of work by a lot of volunteers who gave time."

"It is really a privilege to be part of it and to have the show hosted up here," said volunteer Maude Bertrand. "It's nice to see how the community can come together. I think it's important to raise awareness of the Inuit culture and tradition, but also how it is to live in the minority situation as a francophone up North."

The team and the film crew faced unexpected challenges, having planned the filming for the last weekend in June. One of those challenges was convincing people to stay in town for the first weekend after the end of school. But weather made the filming quite difficult.

"It was probably colder than what we expected," Rocheleau said. "Many of the segments were supposed to be shot outside, we had to make decisions on the spot, so some segments were shot inside."

"There was some sun Friday for the welcoming," Fortin said, noting this was a brief bright spot in a weekend filled with dark skies, fog and rain. "There will be light in the show. Saturday, we filmed at the Hudson Bay buildings, the culture and history of the francophones here. That was actually good that there was fog because it gave a really nice ambiance. But then in the afternoon, it rained a bit more and we were outside at Sylvia Grinnell Park. We did great images, but it was rough on the team."

To ensure Cormier was sheltered from the weather, which might take a bit of the shine off the star's impression, segments were mostly shot earlier in the day, and then repeated with the crews filming his reaction.

"It's a reality show, so the artist is sheltered from our work. They leave it as a surprise and first impression," Fortin said. "If it's always outside under the rain, it will show on their face on camera. We had to protect from that."

The team also had other challenges to overcome that it wouldn't face in most Quebec locales.

"Driving around the city was a challenge because there are no names on the streets," Rocheleau said. "People know where they are going here, but we were lost in the beginning. But in the end, it's going to be an excellent show because every place you put the camera is so awesome."

The hour-long show will air July 29 at 8 p.m. on ICI Radio-Canada across the nation, and viewers will recognize many sights from the city, as well as faces such as throat-singers Marie Belleau and Celina Kalluk, Inuit games athlete Johnny Issaluk, gumboot dance troupe Kasuktaqtiit and children from Ecole des Trois-Soleils. On the night of the show, the Franco-Centre will be hosting a party for anyone wishing to join the francophone community in watching the program.

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