Geeks2, 2016
Guillaume Herbaut, in December 2016, as part of a “commission from the Cnap and the association CéTaVoir” on youth in France, asked the Geek2 to pose in front of his camera. An image construction with the young people of the town of Tergnier to go even further into their imaginary universe.
Tergnier, a town of 14,000 inhabitants in the middle of Picardy. This cheminote town was known for its city built on Raoul Dautry’s plans referring to a locomotive. All the activity was focused on the SNCF workshops. In the 1990s, the workshops were restructured, laying off some of the workers. Today, Tergnier seems to be at the end of the world. A town with more than 20% unemployment, 40% of which is among young people. What is striking here is the spirit of solidarity. A heritage of the railway spirit.
Cédric Carlier is an interpreter, but at the same time he created in 2012 a curious association: Geek2
We see him every Saturday with a merry team of teenagers and young adults: dressed in black, ear piercings, tattoos on their arms, weapons in hand; swords, baseball bats, some of them wearing masks; skull and crossbones, face with scarred wax. With a camera in his hand, he shoots a series made of junk and junk that tells the story of characters who are half hero, half manga with super powers.
Inspired by classic geeks such as the Power Rangers, Dragon Ball Z and Naruto, the so-called urban fantasy series – “A normal world where bad things happen”, as one of them puts it – features evil Henchmen, from a parallel world called Ulvan and led by a certain Big Boss, who want to plunder the Earth’s resources. Facing them is a Ternese named Polo, the Chosen One, assisted by Hit Girl, an old wise man named Merlock and Captain Picardie.
This series is broadcasted on youtube, it has its own network and fans. Each character of the series has his Facebook account. Some episodes have been watched more than 4000 times. A citywide record. The success is such that they have been invited to Japan Expo.
For Cédric, making movies is a way to recover young people who have lost all their haunts. Many of them were failing at school or were long-term unemployed. The web series gives them a structure, it integrates them into a support community. He is proud when he tells us that some of the actors have been able to either find work or go back to school. More than 60 people are members of the association. His objective is also to “give Tergnier another image, as opposed to Tergnier, the disaster-stricken town.”
—
Hôtel Paul Delaroche
58 rue Saint Lazare, 75009 Paris
+33 1 53 01 85 85
—
