Director: Claire Simon
2016, Franța, 115 min
Festivals: Veneția 2016 – Best Documentary on Cinema, DOC NYC
France’s premier cinema school, La Fémis is a place in which creativity, when not squashed under pressure, is nourished with rigor, historic pride, and aggressive competition, with results ranging from the exceptional to the merely mediocre. This almost Frederick Weisman-style observational documentary follows the admission process to the prestigious film school: a five-month calvary at the end of which 40 lucky winners have a shot at artistic fame and perhaps even immortality. A member of the directing faculty, Claire Simon had access at back room debates on candidates, which are surprisingly revealing on the nature of art, contemporary pressures, and the very human search for sparks of individual genius. The film premiered in Venice last year.
Friday, October 6th, 18:30, Cinema Arta