The incredible rise of Giwar Hajabi, young Kurdish-Iranian immigrant, former criminal and drug trafficker turned Xatar, star and legend of German rap.
The autobiographical story of Giwar Hajabi, alias Xatar, entitled All or Nothing. With us we say, the world belongs to you, appeared in 2015 and was a bestseller. Several production companies have sought to obtain the rights, and several directors have shown interest. Eventually, an option was signed for a series. At that time, the rapper and Fatih Akin, who occasionally exchanged on Instagram, decided to meet in Hamburg. The director’s interest in his book for a screen adaptation surprised Xatar:
“I know his films, he goes to the bottom of his subjects. But for me, Fatih was not the right person to direct a rapper. rappers to make entries. At Fatih, I did not see this opportunism.”
Finally the series project was abandoned and the shooting of the film was able to start quickly. If Emilio Sakraya does not, a priori, really look like Xatar, Fatih Akin still chose him to slip into the skin of the rapper. The director justifies this choice: “Emilio was a child actor, so I think he has great experience in all kinds of roles. He has known the job since he was very young and was only waiting for this, for such an opportunity present. He is an actor through and through and really enjoys acting, he is not afraid of anything.” “Even so, fear never paralyzes him, on the contrary, it makes him even more lively. Emilio has his method. For months, he gives his all to prepare, tries to slip into the role, body and soul. It’s for people like Emilio that I make films. I preferred to take an actor capable of metamorphosis than to waste time looking for a kind of look-alike who in any case would only be a pale reflection because Giwar is unique.”