Benevolence, dedication and a sheer will to bring this unknown part of French history helped the 'Swapped' team overcome the hurdles of making this one-of-a-kind series come to life It all began with a family story from the little-known French region of Morvan. Vincent Robert’s family, to be precise, as his great-grandmother had been a wet nurse herself. While investigating his own past, the seasoned writer learned more and more about what would be the grounds of “Swapped,” (aka “Sorority”) a six-part, high-end period thriller co-written with Alexandra Echkenazi that is now being highlighted by France TV Distribution at the Unifrance Rendez-vous, before heading to La Rochelle Fiction Festival later this year.
In “Swapped,” Rose (Lula Cotton-Frapier) leaves her rural home to become a wet nurse for a bourgeois family in late 19th century Paris. There, she meets midwife Odette (Barbara Probst), who warns her: she won’t be allowed to keep her own child with her. A risky solution presents itself to Rose: secretly exchange her baby with that of Hélène de Gersande (Alexia Giordano), a mother grieving the sudden loss of her infant.
Rose, Odette, and Hélène, three women from very different backgrounds, will have to join forces to carve out a place for themselves in a male-dominated world, and claim their freedom. With producer Christine de Bourbon Busset, who called upon Belgian TV power-duo Vania Leturcq and Savina Dellicour (“Pandora”) to helm the six episodes, Echkenazi and Robert set out on this risky yet captivating journey. As the series sets sail, Variety spoke with the team about the makings of this modern take on France’s untold history.
While his great-grand mother was a wet nurse, his grandfather was a so-called ‘Petit Paris,’ a child who had been abandoned in Paris, and sent to rural families in Morvan. It is the modern, female-driven narrative that appealed to the duo. In today’s France, wet-nursing isn’t practiced anymore, but Leturcq points out that childcare is still very much a woman’s responsibility, be it professionally or as a parent.
But beyond that, the script featured very colorful, frustrating-yet-powerful scenes that resonated with us. Feelings of revolt and outrageous stories about how women were treated as cattle make for a strong narrative drive.” What makes ‘Swapped’ stand out is how it manages to play on both period and thriller levels, as the series unveils its character-driven, complex plot in which female protagonists navigate the shifting tides of a patriarchal French society. However, this underlines how much Rose, Odette and Hélène’s stories can resonate on a universal level.” For the filmmakers, the period drama genre proved both a challenge and a creative opportunity.
Yet bringing “Swapped” to completion required dedication, risks, a hefty budget and, to add a layer of complexity, numerous babies. We also used resin puppets and VFX to compose shots, but I think I speak for everybody when I say we won’t work with babies again anytime soon!” Beyond this specific aspect, all on the team praised the benevolent and warm atmosphere in which the shooting took place. On the first day of shooting, even if she wasn’t on the call sheet, she came and brought cake to everyone.
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