After their acclaimed unofficial remake of Jay Z and Kanye West’s Niggas In Paris last year, Lionel Hirlé & Grégory Ohrel – aka Greg & Lio – have followed up something even more impressive. For French rap star Booba’s Jimmy they tell the story of a young man’s journey from poverty in Africa, to drugs kingpin in Paris.
It’s told in a series of sequences, seamlessly stitched together, that literally follow our main character through the key moments of his irresistable rise and eventual downfall – sometimes in command of his fate, sometimes not. Shot in Dakar in Senegal and Paris, it’s a mini-movie that clearly owes a debt to the likes of Scarface and Goodfellas, but also manages, in a few precise brush strokes, present a crime story that gives you a bigger picture. Very good indeed.
Booba
Jimmy
Label: Tallac Records, 2012
Directors: Lionel Hirlé & Grégory Ohrel (Greg & Lio)
Prod co: Quad
Producers: Matthieu Poirier & Martin Coulais
Executive Production: Oxygen Line Producing Dakar / Jam C
Cast: Yann Gaël Elléouet
, Toly Polocoste, Casey Seukap Tchoukeu
, Pierre Vos, Tony Simoneau, Sébastien Novac, Alexandra Sallé
Production Managers: Arnaud Le Méné, Mélodie Buchris
DoP: Sacha Wiernik
Film Crew: Zulma Rouge, Benjamin Groussain, Davy Bauret, Johan Leclaire-Bottarelli, Etienne Arnold, Jean-Christophe Duwez, Benjamin Prevost, Cédric Calmels, Djamil Mostefaoui, Yann Savoye, Alice Ably, Ludovic Tafforeau, Erwan Schmidt et Frédéric Bodeau
Colourist:
Julien Bodard
FX: Guillaume Chaussat, Yann Masson, Jeremy Pierre, Sebastien Gombeaud-Saintonge, Jean-Matthieu Seneca, Rémi Nonne et Anthony Ornecq
Sound design:
Daniel Dos Reis
Special thanks: Quad,
Digital District, RVZ
, Eye Lite, O’Bahamas