Hollywood Film Classics With an African Twist

See "The Matrix," "Frida" and others like never before.

Remaking the Classics - Photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempé teamed up to give iconic American and French films an African makeover. Shot between Senegal—Diop’s home country—and Côte d'Ivoire, the ONOMOLLYWOOD series features local emerging actors and models reinterpreting Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Matrix, American Beauty and other critically acclaimed box-office hits that transcend racial, social and geographical barriers. Keep reading to learn more about the inspiration for this inventive series. –Patrice Peck(Photo: Elise Atangana)

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Remaking the Classics - Photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempé teamed up to give iconic American and French films an African makeover. Shot between Senegal—Diop’s home country—and Côte d'Ivoire, the ONOMOLLYWOOD series features local emerging actors and models reinterpreting Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Matrix, American Beauty and other critically acclaimed box-office hits that transcend racial, social and geographical barriers. Keep reading to learn more about the inspiration for this inventive series. –Patrice Peck(Photo: Elise Atangana)

American Beauty - The hotel group Onomo International gave free rein to Diop and Tempé to create the ONOMOLLYWOOD series on its Dakar and Abidjan locations. Paying homage to the 1999 American Beauty, Diop remixed a familiar shot from the film by replacing the original red rose background with lush foliage.(Photo: Omar Victor Diop)

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American Beauty - The hotel group Onomo International gave free rein to Diop and Tempé to create the ONOMOLLYWOOD series on its Dakar and Abidjan locations. Paying homage to the 1999 American Beauty, Diop remixed a familiar shot from the film by replacing the original red rose background with lush foliage.(Photo: Omar Victor Diop)

Celebrating Cinema - These images might recall ongoing debates about racial diversity, or a lack thereof, in Hollywood and the U.S. entertainment industry. However, the main intent for ONOMOLLYWOOD was not to provoke racial politics, but instead “celebrate the universality of cinema as a form of art,” Diop told BET.com.  (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

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Celebrating Cinema - These images might recall ongoing debates about racial diversity, or a lack thereof, in Hollywood and the U.S. entertainment industry. However, the main intent for ONOMOLLYWOOD was not to provoke racial politics, but instead “celebrate the universality of cinema as a form of art,” Diop told BET.com.  (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

Frida - “Growing up watching these movies, I remember playing roles with my friends as a kid, impersonating James Bond as if I was Roger Moore, and running around the house searching spies in my mom’s kitchen,” said Diop. Pictured here is a reimaging of 2002’s Frida, starring Salma Hayek.(Photo: Omar Victor Diop)

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Frida - “Growing up watching these movies, I remember playing roles with my friends as a kid, impersonating James Bond as if I was Roger Moore, and running around the house searching spies in my mom’s kitchen,” said Diop. Pictured here is a reimaging of 2002’s Frida, starring Salma Hayek.(Photo: Omar Victor Diop)

The Hotel as a Canvas - Tempé has always been fascinated by hotels. “For the traveler, they are ephemeral places, where adventures begin or end, where journeys unfold,” he told BET.com. “For this project, I viewed them as canvases where I could make new places, new people and new styles meet."(Photo: Elise Atangana)

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The Hotel as a Canvas - Tempé has always been fascinated by hotels. “For the traveler, they are ephemeral places, where adventures begin or end, where journeys unfold,” he told BET.com. “For this project, I viewed them as canvases where I could make new places, new people and new styles meet."(Photo: Elise Atangana)

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Blow Up - The artists aimed to celebrate the “magic of a good movie,” and the way in which viewers relate to the plot and the actor, regardless of their origins and where the story happens. This scene is an interpretation of the 1966 thriller Blow Up, which starred David Hemmings and Jane Birkin. (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

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Blow Up - The artists aimed to celebrate the “magic of a good movie,” and the way in which viewers relate to the plot and the actor, regardless of their origins and where the story happens. This scene is an interpretation of the 1966 thriller Blow Up, which starred David Hemmings and Jane Birkin. (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

A Picture Perfect Match - Diop has an eye for fashion photography, as well as staged portraits and advertisement work. Tempé’s photography ranges from documenting performing arts scenes to capturing legendary African artists through portraiture. Requiring a mix of fashionable aesthetics and performance, the cinema theme served as an aesthetic meeting place for the two photographers. (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

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A Picture Perfect Match - Diop has an eye for fashion photography, as well as staged portraits and advertisement work. Tempé’s photography ranges from documenting performing arts scenes to capturing legendary African artists through portraiture. Requiring a mix of fashionable aesthetics and performance, the cinema theme served as an aesthetic meeting place for the two photographers. (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

Thelma and Louise - This photograph is Tempé’s take on the famous 1991 film Thelma and Louise, with an Onomo hotel prominently featured in the distance. (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

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Thelma and Louise - This photograph is Tempé’s take on the famous 1991 film Thelma and Louise, with an Onomo hotel prominently featured in the distance. (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

Breakfast at Tiffany's - In this photograph, the model strikes the same pose as Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.(Photo: Antoine Tempé)

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Breakfast at Tiffany's - In this photograph, the model strikes the same pose as Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.(Photo: Antoine Tempé)

Little White Dress - Tempé swapped out Hepburn’s iconic “little black dress” and black gloves for stark white replicas. (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

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Little White Dress - Tempé swapped out Hepburn’s iconic “little black dress” and black gloves for stark white replicas. (Photo: Antoine Tempé)

Photo By Photo: Antoine Temp?

The Matrix - Diop recreated the gravity-defying shot made famous by Keanu Reeves in the 1999 box-office hit The Matrix. The ONOMOLLYWOOD series comprises 20 photographs—10 by each photographer—and will be unveiled in Dakar, Abidjan and Libreville throughout November 2013.(Photo: Omar Victor Diop)

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The Matrix - Diop recreated the gravity-defying shot made famous by Keanu Reeves in the 1999 box-office hit The Matrix. The ONOMOLLYWOOD series comprises 20 photographs—10 by each photographer—and will be unveiled in Dakar, Abidjan and Libreville throughout November 2013.(Photo: Omar Victor Diop)