While the entire entertainment industry collectively withdrew from Lil Kleine after assaulting his ex, Sascha Visser decided to make a documentary about him. The producer tells NU.nl that he kept the rapper at a distance during the production process.
Why would you give someone who is being prosecuted for abuse a platform in a documentary? Visser fully understands the question. “I have also been conflicted, but I have always been fascinated by him and his enormous success. I always thought that there was a completely different person behind the alter-ego Lil Kleine who tears up 500 euro notes on Instagram.”
Visser, who became known as an actor in On the Way to Tomorrow, had previously spoken with the rapper’s management about a possible documentary. When the images of Lil Kleine abusing his ex Jaimie Vaes came out and he lost lucrative contracts, Visser’s interest was only fueled.
“I was curious about how he really works. Everything around him collapsed,” says Visser. “I wanted to know if he is someone who only points at others. Or does he dare to look in the mirror and say: I have to change.”
‘We were given access to everything and management did not interfere’
From documentary Jorik (named after the rapper’s real name, Jorik Scholten), which can be seen on Prime Video, starts when Lil Kleine is provisionally released after two weeks of pre-trial detention in March 2022. “Jorik and his team then started shooting some images themselves, because the possibility of a documentary was on the table. We only continued with the negotiations later, but we were able to use those images.”
For Visser it was essential that Lil Kleine allowed the camera as much access as possible to create the most honest portrait possible. They decided to run a trial run for a few days, during which both parties could still get out of the project. “I almost thought there was a catch, we were given so much access. Normally management gets involved in everything and that wasn’t the case at all now.”
The rapper also does not mince his words when the camera is rolling. For example, he repeatedly lashes out at his ex and states that abuse “can happen in a relationship”. “I’ve often thought: you can’t say this,” says Visser. “When he says that those things happen in a relationship, you also see him look questioning. As if he is looking for our confirmation.”
‘Lil Kleine makes you feel like you are his buddy’
The fact that Lil Kleine continuously seeks confirmation in his environment is a common thread in the documentary. As confident as he is on stage, Scholten seems insecure in the moments before he goes on stage and chooses his outfit. It also makes the rapper “cuddly”, says Visser. But he also sees that Lil Kleine, as the rapper himself admits, can be quite manipulative.
That is precisely why the producer wanted to keep his distance from the subject of his documentary. “He has his mannerisms. He really makes you feel like you are his buddy and takes you in. When he comes in he hugs you. We drove to him every day with the feeling that we had to be on our guard. I wanted distance “It’s not always easy when you spend so much time together, but there is so much at stake for us. We had to present the story neutrally.”
‘I thought Jaimie should see Lío’s raw material’
Lil Kleine’s bond with his four-year-old son Lío is an important storyline in the three-part documentary. The period in which there was no contact with his son and the rapper was regularly in tears is also shown.
Once a visitation arrangement has been made, the camera crew is present several times when father and son see each other. In one scene, the rapper discusses his child’s language delay (he barely speaks) with his producer Jack $hirak. He thinks that Lío is mainly bothered by what is going on between his parents.
Is it wise to regularly stand around the child with cameras? “There are plenty of scenes with his son that we deliberately left out, which show that he is not doing so well. I also have children myself, I feel something about that too. After we shot on the beach in Ibiza with Lío I personally contacted Jaimie (who did not want to speak in the documentary, ed.). I thought she should see the raw material and could say if we were not allowed to use parts. She just didn’t want him to be recognizable came into view, but other than that she didn’t think it was a problem.”
Visser does not expect that the documentary will polish Lil Kleine’s image. “And that was not our intention.” Has his own perception of the person behind Lil Kleine changed? “My image of him has mainly broadened because of what I have seen. I will never understand why you drag someone out of a car by the hair, but because of what he himself experienced as a child (Lil Kleine says in the documentary that his mother hit, ed.), you can better identify who he is. I don’t think he is a bad person.”
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2024-01-19 04:03:00
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