10/02/2022 - BERLINALE 2022: Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai fully immerse themselves in a Parisian high school’s hip hop class - an initiatory road to overcoming social barriers

"Come closer! Close the circle". It’s into a highly singular educative experience bursting with joyous energy, the uncertainty of adolescent dreams and a desire to push beyond one’s limits and social boundaries that documentary-makers Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai thrust us in their new film Rookies [+see also:
trailer
interview: Thierry Demaizière and Alba…
film profile], which was unveiled in the opening slot of the Generation 14plus programme, unfolding within the 72nd Berlinale. Because more than just a delightful demonstration of a satiated passion for dance, with all the perfectionism and high-level sporting prowess this entails, and a full immersion into the entire school year as experienced by the hip-hop class in Paris’s Turgot High School, it’s first and foremost an opportunity to lift the veil on an incredibly endearing cross-section of French youngsters from a diverse background who have been offered a chance to break free from the societal determinism which separates working class areas from more privileged neighbourhoods.

Clearly, this half-open door to the future for young people who are often caricatured as "socially disadvantaged" or even "chavs" isn’t altogether easy to access. You have to overcome bad family karma, cultural gaps and keep yourself afloat academically speaking (none of which would be possible without the exceptional, gentle yet firm, supportive approach of dance teacher David Bérillon and high school principle Mr. Barrand). But this initiation into a new world radiates such positive levels of group solidarity that it offers a rare chance for metamorphosis - one whose full vitality has been captured perfectly by the two filmmakers.

Hip-hop is all about magical movements, highly personal choreography, fluidity and a sense of timing, but it’s first and foremost about battles, face-offs, the team or rather the "crew". After attending lessons (in French, on Germinal by Zola), our 50 Turgot novices hailing from the fifth and sixth forms meet at the gym where they prepare for the French championships’ qualifiers and learn how to listen to their bodies, to breathe better, to work out their strengths and their weaknesses, to improve their solos or their group numbers, and to exorcise their violence and doubts through dance. The film homes in on eight of them: adopted African survivor Charlotte, the son of an alcoholic, bipolar mother Erwan, super shy Michelle, the highly flippant Nathanaël, tourist Ketsia, gangly Maxime, vindictive Melissa and pretend “bad boy” Aniss. As they reveal their secrets to the camera, or engage in fleeting conversations in changing rooms, corridors and playgrounds, an array of honest and rather moving mini portraits emerges, as does a far broader picture of the French youth of today (and their views on social class, race, gender, money, the future, etc.).

The product of an editing approach which is brilliantly balanced between the exciting world of hip hop (training, competitions, shows and mesmerizing freestyle sessions in the basement, in an empty and disused pool), academic aspects (individual end-of-term meetings where teachers assess and discuss students) and a multitude of small, special moments shared by the pupils, Rookies doesn’t hide the harsh reality of successes and failures. It’s a level of authenticity which only serves to heighten the value of the “Turgot Experiment" and its global success, and which shows the very many virtues of a caring, socially mixed school environment, hinting at the possibility of an optimistic future for the Republic.

Rookies is produced by Falabraks and Tohubohu, and is sold worldwide by Le Pacte.

(Translated from French)