By Anthony Frajman
A French short-order 6-episode thriller series, Maman a Tort (Mother is Wrong) examines the world of a police detective who may or may not be dealing with the abduction of a child.
Velle appeared by Skype at the recent Series Mania in Melbourne, shedding light on the process of making series television.
Whilst having a varied career in many different shows, what attracted Velle to this one was its unusual perspective.
“The series is about the memory of the child, the memories of places.”
Specifically, it was the world the series takes in, which interested the director.
“I tried to dig into the universe (of the series). I really tried to immerse myself into the project, I think that was the most important thing.
“I was drawn to the boy’s mind. I had to approach the series as if I was in the boy’s mind.”
Maman a Tort, which unfolds largely from the point of view of its young protagonist, meant rethinking how Velle would usually go about shooting a series.
“[We tried to make it almost] childish in the way we filmed it, so there was a little bit of low angle stuff, to be close to our main character.”
A French short-order series with a comparatively small budget, there were noted similarities to working on US shows.
“For me, French series are very interesting in the sense that you’re almost still the director in the French way, but you’re also a bit of a showrunner. I love doing those projects, but I also love going back to longer series in the States, and changing the chip in your head.
“You don’t feel that the budget is that much of a factor.
“When I was working on Bones they were telling me if you do exactly what we want, we’re not going to be happy.
“I feel like the world is the same, the food chain is a little different,” Velle added.
