The series was co-produced by New Pictures, Company Pictures, Two Brothers Pictures and Playground Entertainment (Merging) (International)
Although the first story is set in France and the United Kingdom, most of the scenes were filmed in Huy, Halle, Charleroi and Brussels, Belgium,[9] taking advantage of the Belgian Tax Shelter for film funding.[7] Only a few scenes were shot in Paris and London.
(International)
By shooting in multiple different countries they’re able to make the show international
Production, exhibition and distribution, exhibition: 8.5/10 out of 28 ratings on rotten tomato

WITNESS

Marie Dompnier won a Golden FIPA award for the best actress in a television series at 2015’s Biarritz International Festival of Audiovisual Programming for her role as Sandra Winckler.^[3] In March 2016

Media Language
The series is visually interesting, constructing a stylised representation of ‘real’ places which
transmit meanings about characters, places and issues. A detailed analysis of different aspects of
mise-en-scene will provide students with a strong foundation to build on in terms of analysing
representations, ideological meanings and audience positioning.

Analysis should include:
• Mise-en-scene analysis
• Semiotics: how images signify cultural meanings
• Postmodernism: Use of pastiche and bricolage
Narrative
• How does the use of the narrative conventions of the crime drama – use of enigmas, binary
oppositions, restricted and omniscient narration etc -– position the audience?
• A narrative approach to crime drama could include analysing the appeals of the structure as
reassuring and predictable – even when dealing with difficult subject matter.
• The narrative of Witnesses can be defined as postmodern in its self-reflexive style –
particularly in its narrative about the family.
• Narratology including Todorov
Genre
• Conventions of the TV series and the way in which this form is used to appeal to audiences;
how it is distinct from, but related to series and serials.
• Definition of the series as belonging to the drama and crime genres
• Analysing the current popularity of the crime genre – how might it work as metaphor for society
• Genre theory including Neale
Media Representations
Witnesses provides a range of representational areas to explore from the national and regional to
family structures and gender roles. All of the areas tend to overlap with representations of nation
signified through aspects of ethnicity, religion and class, while the reinforcement and subversion of
gender stereotypes allow students to consider how representations reflect social, cultural and
historical circumstances:
• Representation of national and regional identity (Northern France)
• Representation of gender: The woman as detective, the male boss, gender stereotypes etc.
• Feminist debates – Violence and the representation of gender. This could include the
controversy around using violent crime against women as popular entertainment
• Analysis of how the representations convey values, attitudes and beliefs about the world