Maybe Tricky was thinking about the British variety when he wrote Council Estate. But as we know from the likes of Romain Gavras’s controversial Justice video, the French equivalent can be equally grim.

The video for Council Estate was shot at the Aulnay sous Bois in the Paris suburbs back in January, and it’s something of a departure for director Valerie Pirson. She’s best known for her beautiful stop-frame animation work; Michel Gondry is a big admirer – and she animated some sequences on The Science Of Sleep.

But actually, for it’s tough setting – and Tricky comes over as his usual brooding self – this has a positive, quietly hopeful message. And Valerie still manages to get some stop-frame work in there. All in all, it’s bloody good.

[pay]Tricky
Council Estate (Domino)
Prod co: Partizan
Director: Valerie Pirson
Producer: Olivier Bassuet
DoP: Dylan Doyle
Art director: Pierre Pell
SFX: PPL Juliette Baily / David Devaux
Editor: Marie Charlotte Moreau
Telecine: Aline Sinquin / Muriel Archambaud
Commissioner: John Moule
Watch online: Quicktime Movie[/pay]