Scratch

Series in development

Scratch – 6x52’ series / Writers : Kamel Saleh and Akhenaton
Directors : Kamel Saleh et Akhenaton

This series about the hip-hop generation is not a collection of clichés, but rather a sociological reflection of the French youth who have never stopped looking across the Atlantic.

"Scratch" is a chronicle of the golden age of French hip-hop during the 1980s and 90s, about the importance of this urban culture in shaping a generation. Much like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, Moses Mendy—the 17-year-old mixed-race protagonist—dreams of rising above his social circumstances and becoming a legend.

In this fictional story, the characters we follow have been influenced by TV series and films such as Rocky, Flashdance, Beat Street, and Fame. These iconic titles—and the equally compelling character archetypes they feature—have resonated strongly with young people in France.

The setting is the tail end of the Trente Glorieuses—the "Thirty Glorious Years" of post-war economic boom—marked by the explosion of punk and skinhead movements, the rhetoric of Jean-Marie Le Pen’s National Front, the Socialists’ rise to power, the "March for Equality and Against Racism" (the Marche des Beurs), social unrest, and the democratization of independent radio stations.

French hip-hop was born amidst the wreckage of a harsh social reality. The teenagers whose journey and saga we follow belong to a distinct social group defined by shared tastes in music, fashion, and film—a group often associated with marginality and delinquency. And, as with other musical movements, this culture was disparaged by the mainstream.

The aim here is to address the themes of youth and identity during adolescence, while highlighting the aspirations of a bold generation that succeeded in turning its dreams into reality and creating a unique musical and artistic universe.