Jamel Debbouze to Bring Forgotten Olympic Champion’s Story to Big Screen

To repair an injustice against an impressive athlete who has marked the world of athletics, Paul Carcenac, a journalist at Le Figaro, with Pierre-Roland Saint-Dizier and the cartoonist Christophe Girard, have undertaken to pay tribute to him through a comic book (BD) that tells his incredible journey, in order to reveal him to the light for those who have forgotten him and those who have never been aware of his story, reports Le Figaro.

It is the first Olympic champion of Algerian origin who won the 1928 Olympics, and who according to the authors, was "an extraordinary man, capable of running faster than a horse or even a cheetah". It is this biographical, well-researched comic book that Jamel Debbouze is preparing to adapt to the cinema after acquiring the rights.

The authors are moreover pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm generated by this BD which aims to pay tribute to a forgotten author. "By taking an option on the album, Jamel Debbouze really surprised us. On the other hand, if he wants to do things right, he will have to put the financial means: the story of El Ouafi, it’s a mix between Chariots of Fire, Indigène and La Belle équipe by Jean Renoir. We travel from Algeria to Paris, via Amsterdam or New York. It’s a real blockbuster," warned Christophe Girard.

According to journalist Paul Carcenac, the project to design a BD telling the life of this Algerian athlete was born in 2017. "At the time, I was practicing running in a club and the half marathon assiduously. I became passionate about the great figures of the discipline. And that’s how I discovered the existence of this extraordinary character, completely forgotten, and whose life story was incredible."

After assembling their team, the three friends set out to find a publisher. It will be Michel Lafon. Their direct contact, Laëtitia Lehman, is enthusiastic about the project. "She immediately felt the potential of such a subject. The character was endearing, and his story amazing. She was particularly convinced by the American episode, when El Ouafi is hired in a circus, at the Barnum and Bailey circus," says Paul Carcenac.