''Caméra Café'' is a French-born concept of comedy

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

exported around the world. Two movie spin-offs have been made in France under the titles of ''Espace détente'' and ''Le Séminaire''. It was originally a French television show created by Bruno Solo,

Yvan Le Bolloc'h Yvan Le Bolloc'h (; born 20 December 1961) is a French television and radio host and actor. Biography Yvan Le Bolloc'h began as a teacher for four years in Brittany. He worked regularly with Bruno Solo and presented with him several music program ...

, and Alain Kappauf and it was broadcast from September 2001 to December 2004 on the M6 channel. 700 episodes of 3 minutes each have been produced and were broadcast again on M6 in 2004. The show revolves around a dysfunctional office. Its originality stems from the fact that, within the fiction, the camera is fixed into the automated

coffee machine A coffeemaker, coffee maker or coffee machine is a cooking appliance used to brew coffee. While there are many different types of coffeemakers the two most common brewing principles use gravity or pressure to move hot water through coffee gr ...

of the office space. The title is a French pun on "Caméra Cachée", (literally "hidden camera", or

Candid Camera ''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes ...

for the related TV show).

Plot

The main originality of the series is the coffee machine, located in the relaxation area of the company, which becomes the point of view of the viewer during each episode. In front of it, parade the employees of the company "Geugène Electro Stim" (G.E.S.) all are caricatured to the grotesque humor, even cynical at times. This place of choice allows the viewer to live from within the everyday atmosphere of the head office of a large company in the French (such as the presence of a driver for the president, a director of human resources and 'a full-time psychologist), with professional or private discussions that often turn into caricatures. Some extras pass from time to time down the hall and sometimes serve as spectators in some skits at strategic moments.

Cast

Main

* Bruno Solo as Hervé Dumont, Purchasing director and Union representative *

as Jean-Claude , Commercial

Secondary

Armelle Armelle (born 23 July 1969 as Armelle Leśniak) is a French actress, comedian and screenwriter. Life and career After studies in Khâgne, she works as a costume-aid. Trained by Jean Périmony, her atypical physique and her personality do not t ...

as Maéva Capucin, Head of archives and inventory and Carole's assistant * Alexandre Pesle as Sylvain Müller, Accountant * Jeanne Savary as Jeanne Bignon, Secretary and Jean-Guy's assistant * Gérard Chaillou as Jean-Guy Lecointre, Chief human resources officer * Valérie Decobert as Frédérique Castelli, Nancy's secretary * Alain Bouzigues as Philippe Gatin, Network administrator * Shirley Bousquet as Nancy Langeais, Chief financial officer * Sylvie Loeillet as Carole Dussier-Belmont, Chief commercial officer * Philippe Cura as André Markowicz, Chauffeur * Noémie Elbaz as Julie Hassan, Switchboard operator * Karim Adda as Vincent Schneider, Postal service employee * Marc Andréoni as Serge Touati, Company psychologist *

Chantal Neuwirth Chantal Neuwirth (born 1948) is a French actress, who also played on theatre. Theater Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neuwirth, Chantal 1948 births Living people French stage actresses French film actresses Fren ...

as Annie Lepoutre, Trainee *

Tom Novembre Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Stanislas Priziwielsky, Digix's accountant *

Sophie Renoir Sophie Renoir (born 1964) is a French actress. She is the great-granddaughter of the French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), and daughter of the cinematographer Claude Renoir (1913–1993), granddaughter of actors Pierre R ...

as Eva Kovalsky, Carole 's substitute during her illness *

Lucien Jean-Baptiste Lucien Jean-Baptiste (born 6 May 1964) is a French actor, writer and director.Catherine Benguigui Catherine Benguigui (born 1964) is a French actress and television personality. Personal life She is the daughter of Elie Benguigui. Television Radio Filmography References External links

* 1964 births French television actr ...

as Mireille * Catherine Jacob as The interior designer *

Chantal Lauby Chantal Lauby (born 23 March 1948) is a French actress, film director, screenwriter, humorist, comedian and television host. She is a member and founder of the group of comedians ''Les Nuls'' alongside Bruno Carette, Alain Chabat and Dominique F ...

as Emma *

Valérie Mairesse Valérie Mairesse (born 8 June 1954) is a French stage and film actress. She was nominated for the César Awards 1978 for Best Supporting Actress for her role in '' Repérages''. Theater Filmography External links * 1955 births Fr ...

as Anabelle, depressed cleaning lady *

Mathilda May Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm; 8 February 1965) is a French film actress. Early life May was born in Paris, France. Her father, playwright Victor Haïm, is of Sephardic Jewish ( Greek-Jewish and Turkish-Jewish) descent. Her mother is the Sw ...

as The Boss's wife *

Bruno Lochet Bruno Lochet (born 18 October 1959) is a French actor. He is best known for playing in the cult TV series ''Les Deschiens'' (1993–2002), in which he played alongside Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 1953) is a Belgian comedia ...

as Didier Farjex, The chef of the canteen *

Pascal Obispo Pascal Michel Obispo (; born 8 January 1965) is a French singer-songwriter. Biography Pascal Obispo, son of Max Obispo (a former Bordeaux Girondins football player of Basque origin) and Nicole Guérin (originally from Angers), was born on 8 J ...

as Himself *

Guillaume Depardieu Guillaume Jean Maxime Antoine Depardieu (7 April 1971 – 13 October 2008) was a French actor, winner of a César Award, and the oldest child of Gérard Depardieu. Early life Depardieu was the son of actor Gérard Depardieu and his first wife, a ...

as Simon, a former prisoner in reintegration *

Élie Semoun Élie Semoun (born Élie Semhoun on 16 October 1963) is a French comedian, actor, director, writer and singer. Life and career Élie Semoun was born in France, to a Sephardic Jewish family of Moroccan-Jewish and Algerian-Jewish descent. In 1 ...

as The Security guard *

Fred Testot Frédéric Giacomo Testo (, ; born 20 February 1977), known as Fred Testot (), is a French actor, comedian and filmmaker. Since rising to prominence in the 2000s as he collaborated extensively with Omar Sy on the '' Service après-vente des émis ...

as The window cleaner * Aïssa Maïga as Violette, Jean-Claude's ex *

Christelle Cornil Christelle Cornil (born 28 August 1977) is a Belgian actress. Her acting credits include ''Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert'', '' Soeur Sourire'', ''Illegal'', '' Mr. Average'', '' Beauties at War'', ''Julie & Julia'', '' OSS 117: Lost in Rio'', ''My ...

as Yvonne, The maintenance employee * Raphaël Lenglet as Dimitri, Eva's son *

Bruno Salomone Bruno Salomone (born 13 July 1970) is a French actor and comedian. Theater Dubbing He gave his voice to the following movies in their French versions. Filmography References External links * French comedians 1970 births People ...

as Thierry *

Riton Liebman Henri Liebman (born 29 January 1964), known as Riton Liebman, is a Belgian comedian, actor, and director. Career Liebman made his first impression with audiences at age 13, when French director Bertrand Blier discovered him and cast him as Christ ...

as The director

Adaptations

''Caméra Café'' has seen great export success, having been adapted in: *

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

(2002–2003) *

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

(2002–2012, 2021–) *

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

(2002) *

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(2003–2008; 2011-2012; 2017) *

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

(2004) *

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(2005–2009) *

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(2006–) *

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

(2007–2009) *

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

(2008-) *

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

(2008) *

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(2008-2010) *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(2008-) * Macedonia"Movie links for Caméra café (2001)"
on the Internet Movie Database, retrieved on September 10, 2006 *

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

, the show is both in

Créole Creole may refer to: Anthropology * Creole peoples, ethnic groups which originated from linguistic, cultural, and often racial mixing of colonial-era emigrants from Europe with non-European peoples * Criollo people, the historic name of people ...

and French, depending on the origins of the characters. *

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

(2008-)''

Caracol TV Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District, of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau ...

''
''Cámara Café llega para alegrar nuestras noches''
, 13 November 2008, retrieved 15 November 2008 *

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

(2010-2011) *

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

(2013)
Camera Cafe Tunisie Officiel
*

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

(2009-2010) *

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

(2010-) the show is both in

Darija Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alge ...

and French, depending on the characters. *

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

(2012-) *

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

(2012) *

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

(2015-) *

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

(2019) The length of an episode varies on the locale. In Quebec, where the shorter format is less prevalent than in France, episodes are 30 minutes long, commercials included (inversely, the Quebec show ''

Un gars, une fille ''Un gars, une fille'' (, ''A Guy, A Girl'') is a Canadian comedy television series created by and starring Guy A. Lepage and broadcast on Radio-Canada, as well as the title of its French adaptation on France 2. It was one of the most successfu ...

'', originally half an hour long, was reduced to 9 minutes in its French version). Italy kept the 7 minute format and Spain chose a four- to six-minute format.

Episodes

References

External links

* *
Official website of the French versionOfficial website of the Italian versionOfficial website of the Philippine versionOfficial website of the Spanish versionList of all episodes - official streaming
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camera Cafe Television shows filmed in Quebec 2000s Canadian sitcoms 2002 Canadian television series debuts 2003 Canadian television series endings TVA (Canadian TV network) original programming M6 (TV channel) original programming