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Best Documentary on Cinema winner at the Venice Film Festival, The Graduation is a fascinating fly-on-the-wall look at the admissions process for France’s most famous filmmaking academy, La Fémis, that both celebrates and critiques the venerable school in revealing detail.
Founded in 1986, La Fémis boasts alumni that include Claire Denis, Céline Sciamma, François Ozon and Arnaud Desplechin. Documentary filmmaker Claire Simon (A Foreign Body, MIFF 1997), herself a former La Fémis instructor, was given unprecedented access to shoot at the academy during the rigorous admissions process, where young hopefuls vie for coveted spots – limited to only 40 each year – at the prestigious institution.
The Graduation captures both the nerve-wracking trials of budding film students and the peculiarities of the selection process, where the various personalities and preferences of the staff will affect those chosen. It’s an extraordinary glimpse into filmmaking academia that no cinephile will want to miss.
'The extraordinary achievement of Claire Simon's latest film relies on its ability to capture power at work. The Graduation is a potent film: it doesn't exalt the role of institutions but exposes their limits, absurdity, and humanity.' – Film Comment
