Reality is part of Ladj Ly's film, she now wants to invite herself to Hollywood. When the selection of the film "Les Misérables" by Ladj Ly by the Academy of Oscars was announced on January 13, this rise of a filmmaker from Montfermeil sparked the idea that a delegation from the city would also take the plane, and go to Hollywood to talk about football, movies, initiatives and difficulties. They launched a crowdfunding campaign on January 20, and plan to travel from February 7 to 17, during the Oscars, scheduled for February 9.

The delegation is sponsored by Ladj Ly himself, child of the city of Bosquets, in Clichy-Montfermeil, former player of the Football club of Montfermeil and self-taught filmmaker - his passion for football also opens the first sequence of "Les Miserables" ", filming the joyful fury that erupted during the Blues' victory at the Football World Cup in 2018. The rest of the feature film is inspired by a real fact, the violent arrest of a young man on October 14, 2008 in the city of Grove, where Ladj Ly still resides.

Now that the spotlight on Hollywood is shining on the people of Montfermeil, you might as well come there in the flesh: the idea defended by Krimo Mediene, responsible for projects and partnerships for the Montfermeil Football club, has hit the mark with the thousand members of the club. Forty residents of the city will be on the trip. "We want to take advantage of the light of 'Les Misérables', we go there as an ambassador for our actions", explains Krimo Mediene, contacted by France 24.

The delegation will include young footballers, a photographer, young women from the Kourtrajmeufs - in reference to Kourtrajmé, the collective well known for having revealed the host Mouloud Achour, the photographer JR and the filmmaker Ladj Ly. The collective gave its name to a film school created in 2018 in the city. The delegation wants to tackle the issues of women's football as well as poverty, coeducation and cinema, and participate in sports training.

"We have a meeting with Spike Lee [president of the Cannes festival jury this year, note], we are going to visit the cinema department of UCLA University, we are going to meet Calfornian clubs like Los Angeles FC or Venice Beach Football Club… ", enthuses Krimo Mediene. "Above all, we want to register for the long term, not to run out of projects that last a week or three months, find funding and matches that last. Beyond sport, we are very active socially , we have solutions and we want to talk about them. "

What are they going to look for in Hollywood, which they can't find in France? "Inspiring partnerships", replies Krimo Mediene. "It is not easier in the United States than in France, but the culture is different: there is mutual curiosity, it creates emulation! The Americans who have seen the film very much want to meet us. It allows you to take distance, to look at Montfermeil differently, to put your finger on solutions. It is inspiring for us, French. "

The trip, if it finds its funding, will be filmed by documentary filmmaker Olivier Boucreux, in an abyss of the film by Ladj Ly. Once the Hollywood stars have been approached, the delegation will return to Montfermeil with new dreams and a notebook full of contacts.

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