Les Kaïra is a French comedy directed by Franck Gastambide and released in theaters on July 11, 2012. Adapted from the web series Kaïra Shopping, the film stars Medi Sadoun, Franck Gastambide, and Jib Pocthier as three childhood friends from Melun. Now a cult classic among suburban comedies, the film will be available on Prime Video starting December 1, 2025.
Mousten, Abdelkrim, and Momo have always lived in their neighborhood in Melun, without work or real prospects. With their caps pulled down low and crude language, they spend their days killing time, with no specific plans, until an ad in a porn magazine catches their attention. A casting call offers them the chance to become "porn stars, " an opportunity they see as a shortcut to money, recognition, and a more exciting life than the one they have in their neighborhood.
Convinced they have found the "best job in the world," the three friends embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond what they imagined. They discover the behind-the-scenes world of the porn industry, come up against their own limitations, and face the reality of male-female relationships. This journey of initiation also becomes a brutal learning experience, punctuated by disillusionment, embarrassing situations, and confrontations with the adult world, without revealing the latest twists and turns in their trajectory.
Discover or rediscover the trailer for Les Kaïra, a trashy, offbeat comedy set against the backdrop of the city:
The Kaïra adventure began with the web series Kaïra Shopping, created by Franck Gastambide, Medi Sadoun, and Jib Pocthier as a parody of home shopping channels in their neighborhood. Spotted on the internet by the company Save Ferris, the series became Canal+'s first web series before being broadcast on television. It was during filming that a guest, Mathieu Kassovitz, suggested the idea of a feature film, which Gastambide finally decided to pursue several years later.
For his first feature film, Franck Gastambide wears several hats: creator of the universe, co-director of the web series' comic identity, and here director, screenwriter, and lead actor. The film brings together a cast of guests from French and Belgian comedy, such as Elie Semoun, Ramzy Bedia, and François Damiens, as well as figures from other worlds, such asEric Cantona and Katsuni. The film is part of a movement of urban comedies that approach the suburbs through laughter rather than exclusively through the prism of drama.
The director claims to want to talk about neighborhood life in a lighthearted way, in a spirit closer to Lascars than to films like Ma 6-T va crack-er. The notion of "kaïra," slang for "racaille" (scum), is approached as a style and a culture rather than simply a term for delinquency. The plot surrounding the porn industry allows the film to exploit the comic potential of a world perceived as fantastical by the heroes, while questioning gender relations and the emotional misery of some young people in the suburbs.
The film is primarily aimed at a young adult audience familiar with urban culture, the codes of the city, and blunt humor. Its crude language, deliberately outrageous situations, and satirical tone bring it closer to certain American comedies produced or inspired by Judd Apatow, a reference acknowledged by Gastambide. With its mix of deliberate vulgarity and tenderness for its characters, Les Kaïra offers an initiatory chronicle of friendship, the desire for success, and the gap between fantasy and reality.
Les Kaïra
Film | 2012
Theatrical release: July 11, 2012
On Prime Video December 1, 2025
Comedy | Running time: 98 min
By Franck Gastambide | Starring Medi Sadoun, Franck Gastambide, Jib Pocthier
Original title: Les Kaïra
Nationality: France
Franck Gastambide's first feature film, Les Kaïra, was a huge hit with audiences upon its release, paving the way for other projects such as Pattaya and the series Validé. Combining neighborhood comedy, satire of the porn industry, and the chronicle of friends in search of recognition, the film occupies a unique place in the representation of the suburbs in cinema, between deliberate caricature and an affectionate look at its characters.
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