French Rapper Booba’s Crime Series ’Ourika’ Tops Amazon Prime Charts

Ourika follows a police officer who crosses paths with a man who will take over the reins of his family’s illegal "business". Unveiled on March 28, the series is already impressing viewers on Amazon Prime Video. Thanks to its authenticity, the series is even number 1 in several countries, according to Diverto. "I don’t like cardboard sets, we shot in real places, especially in the Paris region," explained Marcela Said, the director of the first three episodes of Ourika. Ourika was filmed in France. "We needed real elements. For the apartment building, we shot almost everything in Bobigny and another part in Aubervilliers. The fireworks, we couldn’t set them off with people living nearby. I wanted to shoot that for real, we found a place to do it. [...] We found a prison outside of Paris, in Compiègne. It was very complicated," she added.

Lovers of the seventh art are awaiting season 2. But one question is puzzling their minds: was the series partly filmed in the Ourika valley, in Morocco? Clément Godart, who co-wrote it, answers in the negative. The reason? "There was an issue with Morocco, because the series is very realistic. Moroccan geopolitics and the fight against drugs with Morocco, it’s quite particular, especially with Europe," he explained. The series was ultimately filmed in Tunisia. "We shot all of Morocco in Tunisia by reconstituting part of the plantations, which we had grown for weeks, of the village. We made Tangier in Tunis. We also made Paris in Tunis for many complex reasons, from Levallois-Perret to Tunis, including shooting scenes of shootouts in the streets," detailed Julien Despaux, the director of the last four episodes of Ourika.