‘Kim Chapiron at his best’: What scam inspired Le Jeune Imam?

What is it about? At the age of 14, Ali is a drifting teenager. His mother, who is raising him alone, has no choice but to send him to the village in Mali to complete his studies. After ten years Ali returns. Despite the suspicions of his mother, whom he is willing to do anything to enlighten, he becomes the imam of the town. Admired by all and driven by his success, Ali decides to help the faithful achieve the dream of every Muslim: the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Pilgrimage to Mecca is considered a duty for Muslims. It is obligatory, written in the Qur’an, for any believer who has financial and physical capabilities. The word “Hajj” refers to anyone who has performed this pilgrimage. But implementing this “5th Pillar of Islam” requires financial sacrifice for most Muslims in France.

In 2019, the Saudi consulate in France issued between 22,000 and 28,000 “special Hajj” visas. The cost per pilgrim for this “trip of a lifetime” is estimated at 5,500 to 7,000 euros. Visas valid for one month allow access to all holy sites. They are issued to pilgrims only through specialized travel agencies accredited by the Ministry of Saudi Arabia.

Unlicensed agencies try to take advantage of the logistical and financial difficulties faced by pilgrims in order to get rich illegally. Also in 2019, it was estimated that between 2,000 and 5,000 Muslim pilgrims found their trips canceled due to lack of valid visas prior to departure. Sometimes it is life savings that are stolen this way.

Pilgrim scammers

The Young Imam script was inspired by several news stories about pilgrim scams in Mecca. The latter are less well-known because they affect a vulnerable, often elderly, population who will not use the justice system or the media to seek redress:

“This news disturbed us my friend Ladge Lee And we decided to write this script together. It is also my wish to speak of the inhabitants of Montfermeil, the town where I spent all the summers of my childhood; My mother grew up here”, explains Kim Chapiron. He adds:

“I have always lived with people of different faiths, including Muslims. There was great tenderness between us. Young Imam was born because he wanted to challenge this. Among other things, I wanted to capture the Muslim religion practiced by the vast majority. The silent majority.”

Who is up for the lead role?

With The Young Imam, Abdullah Sissoko finds his first major film role.

Aspiring to become an actor for several years, he joined the famous Cours Simon at a young age, while acting in several productions such as Negrito by Nicholas Gillen, skirt day by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld and a misanthrope by Moliere. At the same time, he is going through castings.

After appearing in the suburban shocker Romain Gavras directed for Netflix, Athena, Abdullah Sissoko is tapped by another Courtrajme collective mainstay, Kim Chapiron, to slip into the title role of his new feature film. A young imam.

interrogation

Kim Chapiron also made The Young Imam as a thriller. In this way, he wanted to show that the danger is related to the mistakes that everyone makes in life and that the hero makes them out of pride (when he lacks prudence and finds himself at the center of controversy):

“His attitude creates a feeling of ambivalence; we like it and we don’t like it, then maybe we’ll understand. Ali wants to do good, but he realizes that you can’t control everything in life, what happens to him can happen to anyone. Young people in the world.”– says the film director. It follows:

“The film is about acts of love and their meaning. It’s the underlying idea of ​​my story that gives Ali confidence and allows him to use his talent. Once again, the young imam captures a world of nuance. Then it’s about sharing questions and thinking about them as you come out of the film.”

Spiritual leaders 2.0

The power of influence of this new generation imam is related to very new concepts such as the number of followers on social networks. Thus, the young imam is part of both a universal question of faith and a connected modernity. Kim Chapiron explains: “My film about these new spiritual leaders 2.0. How this new family of imams is the power of YouTube, Tiktok, etc.”

“Accordingly, how the tradition is lived by the new generations. The traditional way of practicing religion is being corrupted by new ways of communication. The imam with the most followers is the authority for the youngest. This is quantitative management. It is also one of the themes of the film. A young imam asks how we build the religious. How these new technologies produce excesses”.