Studiocanal is positioning this as premium factual entertainment — a cinematic deep-dive into one of history's most fascinating crime sagas. The docu-series combines rare archival footage with exclusive testimony, promising audiences an unprecedented look inside an operation that spanned three continents and made international headlines for its sheer audacity.
Word in the documentary world is that this project has been quietly generating serious buzz at film festivals for months. Sources close to production say the Yakuza angle alone contains enough classified details to raise eyebrows — questions remain about what cooperation, if any, Japanese authorities provided for on-camera access.
The series documents the 1986 Mitsubishi Bank heist in Tokyo where Fifi's crew netted 300 million yen (nearly €7 million today), earning the 'heist of the century' label. It also covers the theft of Claude Monet's 'Impression, Sunrise,' valued at over €100 million. The four-part series premieres June 22-27 at Sunny Side of the Doc in La Rochelle before bowing on Canal+ later this year.
If you're not watching French crime documentaries by now, you're missing out on the best true crime content being produced anywhere. This one has everything — stolen masterpieces, international fugitives, and Yakuza connections that read like a Ocean's Eleven sequel written by a fever dream.
One of the world's most notorious art heists is finally getting its documentary close-up, and Studiocanal is betting big that audiences can't resist a good old-fashioned criminal saga dripping with international intrigue. The Paris-Tokyo Job (Or How To Rob A Yakuza), a four-part true crime docu-series, will premiere at La Rochelle's Sunny Side of the Doc festival from June 22-27 before making its broadcast debut on Canal+ in France later this year.
At the center of this real-life caper is Philippe "Fifi" Jamin — a flamboyant delinquent who became an international fugitive during the 1980s after his gang embarked on a brazen campaign to steal and traffic world-famous artworks. The crew's taste for high culture proved costly: they targeted paintings by Corot, among others, while simultaneously getting dangerously entangled with the Japanese Yakuza in ways that would eventually make them targets of worldwide law enforcement investigations.
The heist that cemented their infamy? When Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise — valued at more than €100 million — was spectacularly stolen, Fifi's crew instantly became the main suspects. But the drama didn't stop there.
According to the series logline, "Along the way, they will pull off one of Japan's most audacious robberies: the 1986 Mitsubishi Bank heist in Tokyo, netting 300 million yen (almost €7 million today) and earning the label 'heist of the century.'" That's right — these art thieves pivoted to bankingraud and pulled it off so cleanly that the Japanese press dubbed their operation the crime of the century. The documentary is written and directed by Jérémie Rozan, known for Gold Brick, and Jérôme Pierrat, who previously explored cocaine smuggling in Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Feet.
It's produced by Philippe de Bourbon through Andaman Films. The two-hour standalone version — available alongside the four-part series — spans Tokyo, Bangkok, and Mexico, weaving together cinematic storytelling, rare archival material, reconstructions, and exclusive first-hand testimony to trace Fifi's rise and dramatic fall as authorities closed in from every direction. Studiocanal is presenting this as a flagship addition to its premium factual content slate. Whether the final product delivers on that promise remains to be seen — but given the source material involves stolen Monet paintings, Yakuza money trails, and a heist so audacious it earned century-old superlatives, the bar for disappointment seems remarkably low.
