Our unknown lands takes off. This Friday at 9:10 p.m., France 3 broadcasts the new issue of Raphaël de Casabianca’s show. Direction Guyana with Sabrina Ouazani, on the banks of the Maroni River. The host and the actress go to meet a family in Ayawandé, a Native American village accessible only by canoe. They also meet Marco, a Creole ethnobotanist from Martinique and his partner Clarisse, a translator into Bushinengue languages.
An overseas region? A first in the show launched in 2018. Unlike Meeting in unknown land who settles down with indigenous peoples around the world, Our unknown lands focuses on the “unsuspected landscapes” of “French terroirs”, as underlined the France.tv website. The objective? “Take the time to get to know France through the destiny and humanity of those we meet, with a guest who will trust us and step out of their comfort zone,” explained Raphaël de Casabianca during a conference press release in mid-October. So why did it take until 2023 and its eighth issue for the program to venture outside the metropolis?
“It’s more complex to take a guest 7,000 kilometers away”
“The show is quite recent, there haven’t been that many issues. It happened little by little, replies the host to 20 minutes. Afterwards, in terms of organization, it is still more complex to take a guest 7,000 kilometers away in somewhat special conditions like in Guyana. Between the time it was filmed and the idea that germinated, maybe two years passed. Each show takes several years to design. You have to have the right niche, the right planning, the right speakers… All of this takes a lot of time. » And why Guyana for this first?
“We talk a lot about Martinique, Reunion, slightly better-known territories which have also been broadcast more on France Télévisions or in certain documentaries,” underlines Raphaël de Casabianca. Guyana, it’s a bit as if there was still a void, in quotes. We talk a lot about our political situation or things that are a little complex, but we don’t know the Guyanese and this territory. »
This unpublished material effectively addresses the subjects of multiculturalism, complex geography and the importance of the river, but also the very close relationship of inhabitants to nature. “For many, Guyana is the Ariane launches in Kourou, or the unemployment rate and cocaine trafficking with mules. We only talk about this. We can only feed ourselves with news and continuous news channels, but there are other worlds to which we must give space. I assume, I am extremely proud to do it. For two hours we will talk to men who have something to teach us. We follow men who each have their own story and their own life line. It is through this line that we take the river and discover the territory,” notes the host.
“Maybe you added an extra zero? »
For Sabrina Ouazani, discovering this destination was a big surprise. “When Raphaël called me, I was delighted,” she remembers. I was already following both programs and I was very curious to discover a new facet of my dear France that I love so much. But what a surprise when he asked me: “Do you like humidity? Green and nature? We’re going to go more than 7,000 km away.” I replied: “No, that’s not possible, you’re wrong. Perhaps you added an extra zero?” »
Particularly anxious about the idea of traveling and being away from her family, the actress decided to let herself be “taken on board without asking too many questions”. During this week spent in Guyana, the actress had many moving encounters. The history and multiculturalism of the region also touched her greatly.
“I am French of Algerian origin, I grew up in La Courneuve in the city of 4,000 where my friends and the people around me were of diverse origins and cultures,” she explains. I have always thought that differences and cultural mix are a wealth and a source of sharing. Arriving in Guyana, with all this history and these different communities, in quotes, who mix and live together, I found it immeasurably beautiful. »
“We manage to fulfill the promise of the show”
“With this issue, we manage to achieve the promise of the show, that is to say, to bring about meetings and ensure that they are not only strong but also useful,” enthuses Antonio Grigolini, director of documentaries at France Télévisions.
“Having the time, at 9:10 p.m. on France 3, to get into the hearts of these people, this history and these French people who are far away but so close to us, I find it extraordinary. Even if there is a geographical distance, there is a proximity of very strong values and identities,” underlines Raphaël de Casabianca.
Our unknown lands will they make other escapades outside mainland France? If another number, the destination of which we do not know, was produced after the one which was filmed in Guyana, Raphaël de Casabianca promises in the future “a mix of the two” which “opens up other horizons”.