Ourika on Prime Video: The Booba series is inspired by a true story!

Available on Prime Video from March 28, Ourika is a new sensation in French fiction. Co-created by rapper Eli Jaffa, aka Bubba, and Clement Godart, along with Clement Gournes and Vincent L’Antoine, this series follows the rise of a gangster and a cop who are forever linked by a case that crosses borders.

Urika relies on a trio of charismatic and energetic actors: Adam Bessa, seen in Tyler Rake and its sequels, but also Mosuli and Harka; Noham Edje, seen in the TV series Bardot and the films Les Amandiers and An Affair of Honor; and Salim Kechius (La vie d’Adèle, Mektoub My Love, Lupine, L’Enfant du Paradis) and the presence of Bubba in a small role.

What is the cart talking about?

In 2005, in a town on the outskirts of Paris that has been in turmoil, the Jable family reigns supreme over cannabis trafficking. While neighborhoods burn, a major drug bust explodes the clan.

Driss (Adam Bessa), the youngest son, is forced to take over the family business while he was destined for a career in finance. Facing him, William (Noham Eje), a rookie and ambitious neighborhood cop, is determined to take him down. Their meteoric parallel rise will change their fortunes forever.

The incredible true story that inspired the cart

You should know that the series Ourika is a joint idea between Booba and Clément Godart, who is a former drug cop. The latter left the police force, but his and his former colleagues’ stories about the fight against drugs and the connections between policemen and thugs were very strong.

“The construction of this series is also driven by the desire to talk to people”Clement Godard told us in an interview, “We can’t imagine this trouble, which is so universal in the world today. We fantasize about it a thousand times in real life or in movies, but people really don’t know what’s behind the scenes. We want to explain it through scenes that are an integral part of our society today.”

He chose inspiration from the case of Francois Thierry, the Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking (OCRTIS, which has become the Office for the Fight against Narcotics since 2020) and delivery methods to control drug shipments.

Francois Thierry was a key figure in France’s drug war, often praised by authorities for his incredible results. But he has come under fire for his shady methods, particularly the selection of drug lord Sophia Humble as an informant.

A former top policeman has been accused of opening wide the door to bringing drugs into France behind the backs of magistrates and has been charged with complicity in drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy. The case investigated by the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office is still ongoing, even though it was requested to drop the case at the end of last year.

In 2017, Hubert Avoin, former undercover informant and Narcotics Bureau methods investigator, and journalist Emanuel Fensten published a book. gone which particularly mentions the OCRTIS methods. This work and the case of François Thierry inspired director Thierry de Perret for his film Investigating a State Scandal with Pio Marmay, Roshdi Zem and Vincent Lindon, which was released in 2021.

The story of two intertwined destinies

Marin Francou, director of Urika’s collection and screenwriter, who became especially famous for his works of essential artistic gear, was immediately excited about this project and this work, which made it possible to tell the story of two characters and two trajectories of closely related lives:

“It’s explained in a very educational way throughout the episodes of the season, and the series makes it romantic, but everything is very real. We put this idea in William’s character, with the complicity of his boss, to put places where they are monitored. The delivery system, which is by OCRTIS invented method.

And with Dries Jable’s character, we make a connection with drug lord Sofiane Hambly, whose armory is seized with tons of cannabis in front of his apartment on Boulevard Exelmans. Reality serves our dramaturgy as we try to explore this relationship between the robber and the policeman. In other words, they need each other in this matter.”

Viewers follow this “professional” relationship between William and Driss over the course of the episodes, for better and especially for worse, as Marine Franco sums it up well: “They went on a spiral that took them really far until they got a little slapped in the face at the end of the season. But that’s what really happened.”.

With its two characters, Cart is not only a muscular police thriller, it is also a family drama that questions identity, future and sense of belonging, as Clement Godard wanted:

“For both William and Driss, the question of family was important. Everyone has his own police, the former police, the latter – blood. And throughout this story several questions arise: What is your family? What is it. Belonging? Where do you come from? Where are you going? What and to whom are you fighting?”

The Ourika series is available on Prime Video.