Brooklyn

West Coast Premiere • Drama • France, 2015

DCP • 1.37 • Stereo • Color • 83 min

 

Directed by: Pascal Tessaud

Written by: Pascal Tessaud

Cinematography: Fabien Rodesch, Sébastien Bages

Film Editing: Nicolas Milteau, Amandine Normand

Original Score: Khulibai, Calogero Di Benedetto, DJ Dusty

Produced by: Pascal Tessaud (Les Enfants de la Dalle)

Cast: Kt Gorique (Coralie, AKA Brooklyn), Rafal Uchiwa (Issa), Jalil Naciri (Yazid), Liliane Rovère (Odette), Véronique Ruggia (Elizabeth)

International Sales: The Festival Agency, Les Enfants de la Dalle

 

This gritty boy-meets-girl set in the unvarnished housing projects of Saint Denis centers on Coralie, AKA Brooklyn, a talented young rapper who leaves Switzerland to find success in the hip-hop subculture of Paris. She is taken under wing by the stern but avuncular social worker Yazid, who invites her to his poetry-slam events. When Coralie proves she can bust a rhyme with the best of them, she gains the attentions, partly amorous and partly adversarial, of Issa, who up to now has been the unchallenged star of the scene. But as Coralie transforms herself into her rap persona Brooklyn, she begins to question the success she thought she wanted.

 

Writer/director Pascal Tessaud was raised in the same kind of working class housing projects in which his feature debut is set. In addition to his short films, including The City of Light, which took home the COLCOA Audience Short Film Award in 2013, he scored a success with Slam, ce qui nous brûle (2007) a documentary about the emerging French poetry slam movement. Influenced by the improvisational approach of John Cassavettes, Tessaud gathered a cast and crew as large as 60, all volunteering their talents for Brooklyn, a cinematic love letter to his beloved Saint Denis and its often misunderstood hip-hop community. With the exception of Jalil Naciri (Yazid), the actors are real-life rappers playing versions of themselves and speaking dialogue improvised in workshops. The result is a fiery, authentic example of French Guerilla Cinema that earned a world Premiere at the Acid competition in Cannes 2014.

 

Quotes:

“The strengths of Brooklyn lie chiefly in its musical performances, particularly when Gorique and Uchiwa are performing with just two turntables and a microphone. The soundtrack, mixing hip-hop beats with jazz, is also excellent.”

– Stephen Dalton HOLLYWOOD REPORTER