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MetFilm Distribution has debuted the trailer for filmmaker Claude Barras’s animation ‘Savages.’

At the edge of Borneo’s vast rainforest, Kéria rescues a baby orangutan found in the palm plantation where her father works. Together with her young cousin Selaï, who comes to live with them, seeking refuge from the conflict between his indigenous tribe and the logging companies, the trio bravely overcome every obstacle in their battle against the planned destruction of the rainforest, their ancestral home.

Voice cast includes Babette De Coster (Keria), Martin Verset (Selaï), Laëtitia Dosch (Jeanne), Benoît Poelvoorde (Mutang) and Pierre-Isaïe Duc (Along Sega). Nicolas Burlet produces ‘Savages’ with co-producers Laurence Petit, Barbara Letellier, Carole Scotta, Vincent Tavier, Hugo Deghilage, Annemie Degryse, and Olivier Glassey.

Also in trailers – Teaser trailer is served for ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’

The movie will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 1st August, both...

“Corsage” director Marie Kreutzer’s “Gentle Monster” emerged as the big winner at the third edition of the Cannes Film Market’s Investors Circle, scooping up the ArteKino International Prize with its €20,000 purse.

The Austrian project, produced by Alexander Glehr and Johanna Scherz of Film Ag Produktions GmbH, was selected from among 10 film projects presented to VIP investors at the high-profile Cannes financing event.

“I’m surprised in the most positive way,” Kreutzer said following her win. “Filmmaking is a really big mountain, and what happens before the premiere – to get a film made – is a very long climb. So we really need people who want to support cinema and have love for cinema – that’s why meeting investors is extremely important. I had great conversations with these investors so far. The script has sparked their interest, and they’re eager to learn more about the project.”

Held at the...

Marie Kreutzer’s upcoming feature Gentle Monster has clinched the 2025 ArteKino International Prize at the Cannes Market’s third Investors Circle event, with the prize money going to the producers Alexander Glehr and Johanna Scherz for development of the project.

Kreutzer’s latest film after Corsage with Vicky Krieps, Gentle Monster will take the spectator on the unsettling journey of an internationally renowned pianist who moves her family from Munich to the countryside and uncovers life-shattering truths about her partner.

It was one of 10 projects pitched at the third Investors Circle event on May 18, aimed at connecting elevated arthouse projects with investors.

The festival has also unveiled details of the projects, which were under wraps until the event was over, which include new films by Belgium’s Lukas Dhont, whose second film Close shared Cannes Grand Prix; Hungarian festival regular Kornél Mundruczó, who won the Un Certain Regard Prize for White God,...

Gentle Monster, the new feature project from Austrian director Marie Kreutzer (Corsage), has won the 2025 ArteKino International Prize at this year’s Investors Circle in Cannes. Producers Alexander Glehr and Johanna Scherz of Film Ag Produktions received the 20,000 euro ($22,000) award during a private pitching session that capped the third edition of the Marché du Film’s curated investment platform.

I’m surprised in the most positive way,” said Kreutzer, about her win. “Filmmaking is a really big mountain, and what happens before the premiere — to get a film made — is a very long climb. So we really need people who want to support cinema and have love for cinema — that’s why meeting investors is extremely important. I had great conversations with these investors so far. The script has sparked their interest, and they’re eager to learn more about the project.”

Held at the Plage des Palmes during the 78th Cannes Film Festival,...

The 37th European Film Awards, which take place annually in the lakeside Swiss city of Lucerne, have unveiled their nominations for 2024. Unsurprisingly, the list is led by French director Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language cartel musical “Emilia Pérez” with four nominations including European Film and Best Actress for Karla Sofia Gascón. Surprisingly, Audiard, previously a five-time Efa nominee, has never won a prize from the European Film Academy, which boasts more than 5,000 members across the continent. Getting a boost is Mohammad Rasoulof’s Iranian family thriller “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” with three nominations including European Film. It’s Germany’s submission for the International Feature Oscar this year due to its dominantly European production despite filming in secret in banished director Rasoulof’s home country.

European Film Award staple Pedro Almodóvar’s Venice Golden Lion winner “The Room Next Door” notched four noms including European Film, Director, Actress for Tilda Swinton,...

Jacques Audiard‘s “Emilia Pérez” and Pedro Almodóvar‘s “The Room Next Door” topped Tuesday’s 37th European Film Awards nominations with four apiece.

Both are up for Best European Film, Best European Director, and Best European Screenwriter prizes, while their leads, Karla Sofía Gascón in “Emilia Pérez” and Tilda Swinton in “The Room Next Door,” will face off in Best European Actress.

Mohammad Rasoulof‘s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” nabbed three nominations for film, director, and screenwriter. Coralie Fargeat‘s word-of-mouth hit “The Substance” scored two bids for film and screenwriter honors.

For the first time, films nominated for Best European Documentary and Best Animated Feature Film are eligible in the Best European Film category, leading to an expanded list of 15 nominees. Also making the cut for the top prize are Italy’s Oscar entry “Vermiglio,” Senegal’s entry “Dahomey,” and Latvia’s entry and animated film “Flow.

The nominees for this year’s European Film Awards have been unveiled, with “Emilia Pérez,” “The Substance” and “The Room Next Door” all up for best European film.

Movies also in the running for the ceremony’s top award — which was expanded this year to documentaries and animated features — include Lina Soualem’s “Bye Bye Tiberias”; Mati Diop’s “Dahomey”; Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow”; Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra and Hamdan Balla’s “No Other Land”; Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; and Maura Delpero’s “Vermiglio.”

“Emilia Pérez” and “The Substance” lead the nominees overall, with each film scoring four respective nominations. The winners will be revealed during an awards ceremony on Dec. 7 in Lucerne, Switzerland.

See all the nominees below.

European Film

“Bye Bye Tiberias” — documentary film, directed by Lina Soualem, produced by Jean-Marie Nizan, Guillaume Malandrin and Ossama Bawardi

“Dahomey” — documentary film, directed by Mati Diop,...

The Substance by Coralie Fargeat, Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard, The Room Next Door by Pedro Almodóvar, and The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof are among the nominees for the 2024 European Film Awards (EFAs), organizers unveiled on Tuesday.

Emilia Pérez and The Room Next Door earned four noms each, including for best European film and best director. Sacred Fig is up for the best film, best director, and best screenwriter prizes. The Substance is in the running for the best film and best screenwriter honors.

In the best actress race, Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón faces Renate Reinsve, Tilda Swinton for her role in The Room Next Door, and The Girl With the Needle actresses Trine Dyrholm and Vic Carmen Sonne. For The Girl With the Needle, Magnus von Horn and Line Langebek are also nominated in the best screenwriter category.

Queer star Daniel Craig and...

The European Film Academy has announced the nominees in key categories of the 37th European Film Awards ahead of the ceremony in the Swiss lakeside city of Lucerne on December 7.

French Oscar entry Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard and The Room Next Door by Pedro Almodovar lead the nominations making it into four categories each. Both films were nominated for best European film, director and screenplay as well as actress, for Karla Sofia Gascón in Emilia Pérez and Tilda Swinton in The Room Next Door.

Other frontrunners included Germany’s Oscar entry The Seed of the Sacred Fig by exiled Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, which was nominated for best film, director and screenplay.

A slew of films clinched two nominations including Maura Delpero’s Italian Oscar entry Vermiglio, Halfdan Ullmann Tondel’s Norwegian Oscar entry Armand as well as Andrea Arnold’s Bird and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance.

For the first time this year,...

The European Film Academy has revealed the nominations in the animated feature film category of the European Film Awards.

The nominated films are Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow,” Kristina Dufková’s “Living Large,” Claude Barras’

“Savages,” Isabel Herguera’s “Sultana’s Dream,” and Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal’s “They Shot the Piano Player.”

“Flow” won the main jury and audience awards at Annecy, and the award for original music. It played in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.

“Sultana’s Dream” won Annecy’s Contrechamp Award, while “Living Large” won the Contrechamp Jury Award.

“Savages” played in competition at Annecy and also screened at Locarno. Barras was Oscar nominated for “My Life as a Courgette.”

Mariscal and Trueba were Oscar nominated for “Chico & Rita.” Trueba’s live-action drama “Belle Epoque” won an Oscar for best foreign-language film.

The committee that decided on the nominations was comprised of representatives of the European Film Academy and Cartoon,...

The life of Rosa Bonheur, a trailblazing feminist and artist who rose to fame in 19th century France, will be played by Melanie Laurent in a sprawling period movie directed by Fabienne Berthaud.

“Rosa Bonheur” is being produced by Carole Scotta, Barbara Letellier and Caroline Benjo at Haut et Court, the company behind “Coco Before Chanel” and “The Night of the 12th,” which won a raft of Cesar Awards last year.

The biopic reteams Haut et Court with Berthaud following her previous films, notably Diane Kruger starrer ”Lily Sometimes,” which played at Cannes’ Director’s fortnight in 2010, and 2019’s ”A Bigger World,” starring Cecile de France, which bowed at Venice. Haut et Court will also distribute “Rosa Bonheur” in France.

The movie will shoot on location in Bonheur’s well-preserved atelier at her Château de By in Thomery, where she worked and lived for over 40 years, alongside her partner Nathalie...

Film and TV studio Fifth Season has secured international distribution rights to “Monsieur Spade,” the crime drama series starring and executive produced by Clive Owen.

Fifth Season will represent the title at the upcoming Berlin European Film Market.

The six-episode series is based on Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled private detective Sam Spade, the protagonist of 1930 novel “The Maltese Falcon,” adapted several times for the screen, most notably in 1941 by John Huston with Humphrey Bogart as the sleuth.

In the series, the year is 1963, and legendary detective Spade (Owen) is enjoying retirement in the South of France. Spade’s life in Bozouls is peaceful and quiet, but the rumoured return of his old adversary will change everything. Six beloved nuns have been brutally murdered, and as the town grieves, secrets emerge and new leads are established. Spade learns the murders are connected to a mysterious child, who is believed to possess great powers.

SAG and BAFTA Award-winner Clive Owen stars in AMC’s Monsieur Spade, a limited series centering on the detective from Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. The six-episode series will premiere on Sunday, January 14, 2024 on AMC, AMC+, and Acorn TV.

In addition to Clive Owen as Sam Spade, the neo-noir crime drama stars Cara Bossom (Radioactive) as Teresa, Denis Ménochet (Inglourious Basterds) as Chief of Police Patrice Michaud, Louise Bourgoin (The Romanoffs) as Marguerite Devereaux, and Chiara Mastroianni (On a Magical Night) as Gabrielle. Stanley Weber (Outlander) is Jean-Pierre Devereaux, Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game) is George Fitzsimmons, Jonathan Zaccaï (Robin Hood) is Philippe Saint-Andre, and Rebecca Root (The Queen’s Gambit) is Cynthia Fitzsimmons.

Emmy and SAG Award-winner Alfre Woodard guest stars as Virginia Dell and Dean Winters (Lost Girls) guest stars as Father Matthew.

Monsieur Spade was shot in France, with series creators Scott Frank and Tom Fontana writing and executive producing.

AMC, AMC+ and Acorn TV announce that the highly-anticipated, limited crime drama, Monsieur Spade, is set to premiere on Sunday, January 14and shared an all-new trailer and additional series photography. Starring and executive produced by Golden Globe®, SAG® and BAFTA® Award-winner Clive Owen as the hard-boiled private detective Sam Spade, the six-episode drama is co-created, written and executive produced by Emmy® Award-winners Scott Frank, who also serves as director, and Tom Fontana.

Image courtesy: AMC Networks

Also they reveal, Emmy®, Golden Globe® and SAG® Award-winner Alfre Woodard and Dean Winters have joined the series as guest stars, portraying Virginia Dell and Father Matthew, respectively.

Monsieur Spade centers around the infamous protagonist of American writer Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 classic novel The Maltese Falcon. The year is 1963, and the legendary Detective Sam Spade (Owen) is enjoying his retirement in the South of France. By contrast to his days as a private eye in San Francisco,...

AMC Networks today released a first-look teaser trailer for its upcoming sophisticated, six-episode crime drama, Monsieur Spade, premiering on AMC and AMC+ in early 2024. Starring and executive produced by Golden Globe®, SAG® and BAFTA® Award-winner Clive Owen as the hard-boiled private detective Sam Spade, the limited series is co-created, written and executive produced by Emmy® Award-winners Scott Frank, who also serves as director, and Tom Fontana.

Monsieur Spade centers around the infamous protagonist of American writer Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 classic novel The Maltese Falcon. The year is 1963, and the legendary Detective Sam Spade (Owen) is enjoying his retirement in the South of France. By contrast to his days as a private eye in San Francisco, Spade’s life in Bozouls is peaceful and quiet. But the rumored return of his old adversary will change everything. Six beloved nuns have been brutally murdered at the local convent. As the town grieves,...

Pi Sam Spade (Clive Owen) finds his quiet life in retirement interrupted in Monsieur Spade, AMC’s upcoming six-episode crime drama series from Owen, The Queen’s Gambit creator Scott Frank and City on a Hill showrunner Tom Fontana.

AMC has released the first trailer for the six-episode series in which Owen stars, co-writes and executive produces. It’s set to premiere on AMC and AMC+ in early 2024.

Per the logline: Monsieur Spade centers around the infamous protagonist of American writer Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 classic novel The Maltese Falcon. The year is 1963, and the legendary Detective Sam Spade (Owen) is enjoying his retirement in the South of France. By contrast to his days as a private eye in San Francisco, Spade’s life in Bozouls is peaceful and quiet. But the rumored return of his old adversary will change everything. Six beloved nuns have been brutally murdered at the local convent.

AMC Networks has unveiled the teaser trailer for Monsieur Spade, giving fans a first look at Oscar nominee Clive Owen (Closer) as the iconic fictional detective Sam Spade. The detective was introduced in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon released in 1930 and played by Humphrey Bogart in the classic 1941 film directed by John Huston.

AMC’s limited series also features Cara Bossom (Radioactive) as Teresa, Denis Ménochet (Inglorious Basterds) as Chief of Police Patrice Michaud, Louise Bourgoin (The Romanoffs) as Marguerite Devereaux, Chiara Mastroianni (On a Magical Night) as Gabrielle, and Stanley Weber (Outlander) as Jean-Pierre Devereaux. Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game) stars as George Fitzsimmons, Jonathan Zaccaï (Robin Hood) is Philippe Saint Andre, and Rebecca Root (The Queen’s Gambit) is Cynthia Fitzsimmons.

Emmy winners Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and Tom Fontana (City On A Hill) created the series and serve as writers and executive producers. Frank also directs the six-episode series.

Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA award winner Clive Owen is stepping into the role of Detective Sam Spade, the protagonist of noir writer Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 classic novel “The Maltese Falcon,” in AMC Networks’ “Monsieur Spade.”

The series, which is set in 1963, follows Spade (Owen) as he enjoys a peaceful and quiet retirement in the South of France – until the rumored return of his old adversary changes everything. When six beloved nuns are brutally murdered at a local convent, Spade learns that they are somehow connected to a mysterious child who is believed to possess great powers.

Joining Owen in the show’s ensemble cast is up-and-comer Cara Bossom (“Radioactive”) as Teresa, Denis Ménochet (“Inglorious Basterds”) as Chief of Police Patrice Michaud, Louise Bourgoin (“The Romanoffs”) as Marguerite Devereaux, Chiara Mastroianni (“On a Magical Night”) as Gabrielle, Stanley Weber (“Outlander”) as Jean-Pierre Devereaux, Matthew Beard (“The Imitation Game”) as George Fitzsimmons,...

Clive Owen will be on the case when Monsieur Spade premieres on AMC in 2024.

AMC Networks released a first-look teaser trailer for its upcoming crime drama, premiering on AMC and AMC+ in early 2024.

The six-episode limited series is co-created, written, and executive produced by Emmy® Award-winners Scott Frank, who also serves as director, and Tom Fontana.

Monsieur Spade centers around the infamous protagonist of American writer Dashiell Hammett's 1930 classic novel The Maltese Falcon.

"The year is 1963, and the legendary Detective Sam Spade (Owen) is enjoying his retirement in the South of France," the logline teases.

"By contrast to his days as a private eye in San Francisco, Spade's life in Bozouls is peaceful and quiet."

"But the rumored return of his old adversary will change everything."

"Six beloved nuns have been brutally murdered at the local convent," AMC adds.

"As the town grieves, secrets emerge, and new leads are established.

Dominik Moll’s investigative drama earns awards in Paris for best film, director, adapted screenplay and more.

Dominik Moll’s investigative drama The Night Of The 12th enjoyed a big night at France’s 48th annual César Awards, picking up six awards including best film of the year at a starry ceremony at Paris concert hall l’Olympia on Friday night.

The film, which started the night on 10 nominations, prevailed in a competitive category alongside Louis Garrel’s crime-infused romantic comedy The Innocent, Cédric Klapisch’s dance drama Rise, Albert Serra’s political thriller Pacifiction, and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi’s coming-of-age tale Forever Young.

Update, writethru: Dominik Moll’s The Night Of The 12th swept the board at the 48th edition of France’s César awards in Paris on Friday evening.

The film, which was nominated in 10 categories, also won best male newcomer for its star Bastien Bouillon, best-supporting actor for Belgian actor Bouli Lanners as well as best sound and adapted screenplay.

The investigative drama world premiered in Cannes’ non-competitive Cannes Première section last May.

Bouillon plays a police detective who becomes obsessed with a case involving a complex female murder victim in a small town close to the city of Grenoble in the foothills of the French Alps.

Louis Garrel’s comedy The Innocent, which led the nominations making it into 11 categories, won best original screenplay for the director and co-writers Tanguy Viel and Naïla Guiguet as well as best supporting actress for Tár star Noemie Merlant.

Brad Pitt & Virginie Efira presented...

The 46th César Awards, France’s top film honors, have been handed out in Paris, with Dominik Moll’s crime thriller The Night of the 12th winning the best picture trophy.

Moll’s The Night of the 12th, which premiered in Cannes last year, scored 10 César noms coming into the awards show, just behind Louis Garrel’s The Innocent, which picked up 11 nominations. Moll also won for best director, and Bouli Lanners earned the best supporting actor trophy for his performance in The Night of the 12th.

Cédric Klapisch’s Rise, about a ballet dancer (Marion Barbeau) who, after an injury, seeks a new future in contemporary dance, was up for 9 Césars, as was Albert Serra’s Pacifiction, a thriller featuring Benoît Magimel as a morally-challenged Haut-Commissaire on an island in French Polynesia.

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s dramedy Forever Young, Cedric Jimenez’s terrorism drama November, Eric Gravel’s family...

Duo are behind Dominik Moll’s ’The Night of the 12th’

Haut et Court’s Carole Scotta and Barbara Letellier were named best producers of the year at the 16th annual edition of France’s Academy of Film Arts & Sciences’ Daniel Toscan du Plantier Prize held on Monday night (February 14) in Paris.

The duo are notably behind Dominik Moll’s investigative drama The Night Of The 12th, which has been sweeping awards season in France, winning the Best Film Lumiere Award and nominated for 10 César awards.

A swanky gala dinner celebrated the winning pair along with the finalists for the prize,...

Carole Scotta and Barbara Letellier, the French producers of Dominik Moll’s thriller “The Night of the 12th,” won the Toscan du Plantier Award at a Paris ceremony hosted by the Cesar Academie.

The pair, who produced the movie at Haut et Court (“The Class”), were voted on by 1,641 people, including artists and crew members who were previously nominated at the Cesar Awards, along with the governing body members of the Cesar Academie.

On stage with Letellier, Scotta praised Moll’s vision for the “The Night of the 12th” and said the film was “driven by the power of the collective effort. “That’s what we see with this group of cops working tirelessly to solve a case,” she continued.

“The Night of the 12th” is vying for 10 Cesar awards. The brooding topical procedural, which also opened as part of Cannes’ Premiere section, stars Bastien Bouillon and Bouli Lanners as...

‘Save Our School’, ‘Christophe… définitivement’ will debut on the beach.

Two world premieres will take place on the beach in Cannes as part of the 2022 Cinema de la Plage lineup – Carine May and Hakim Zouhani’s Save Our School and Ange Leccia and Dominique Gonzales-Foerster’s Christophe… définitivement.

Save Our School is a French comedy about two teachers’ attempts to establish Paris’ first suburban ‘green school’, to quell the competition from a new hall of residence nearby. It is produced by Barbara Letellier and Carole Scotta for France’s Haut et Court, in co-production with France 2 Cinema; with France TV Distribution handling sales.

It’s day three of virtual Mipcom. Deadline will keep this page updated with some of the day’s most notable deals, so hit refresh for updates.

HBO Max Snaps Up Studiocanal’s ‘Possessions’

WarnerMedia streamer HBO Max has swooped for psychological thriller Possessions from Studiocanal. Produced by Haut et Court TV, the six-part series tells the story of a young French expatriate in Israel, who is charged with the murder of her husband on their wedding night. Filmed in French, Hebrew and English, Possessions was created by Shachar Magen (Sirens) and directed by Thomas Vincent (Bodyguard) for Canal+ Creation Original and Yes. The show is produced by Caroline Benjo, Barbara Letellier, Simon Arnal and Carole Scotta, and co-produced by Eilon Ratzkovsky, Osnat Nishri and Keren Misgav Ristvedt from Quiddity. Starring Nadia Tereszkiewicz, it was made with participation from Cnc and BeTV, and funding from the European Union.

John De...

HBO Max, the streaming-video hub of WarnerMedia, has acquired anticipated Studiocanal title “Possessions,” a psychological thriller series created by Shachar Magen (“Sirens”) and directed by BAFTA-nominated Thomas Vincent (“Bodyguard”).

As an international Max Original, the series will be made available on the U.S. streaming platform in December.

Commissioned for Canal Plus’s Creation Original and Israel’s Yes TV, the series was shot in Israel in French, Hebrew and English. The show was produced by Caroline Benjo, Barbara Letellier, Simon Arnal and Carole Scotta from the leading Paris-based production company Haut et Court TV, whose credits include “No Man’s Land” and “The Returned.” Eilon Ratzkovsky, Osnat Nishri and Keren Misgav Ristvedt from Israel’s Quiddity (“Sirens”) co-produced the series.

“The demand for non-English language content continues to grow throughout the world and I am delighted that this exceptional drama will be available for a wide, global audience via HBO Max...

#40. Foxfire Director/Writer: Laurent CantetProducers: Simon Arnal, Caroline Benjo, Barbara Letellier, Carole Scotta, Simone Urdl and Jennifer WeissDistributor: Rights Available The Gist: Based on Joyce Carole Oates’s novel Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang, this is set in a working-class district of a small town in New York State in the 1950s. In this violent post-war culture controlled by men, a group of headstrong teenage girls unite into a sisterhood of blood: they form the Foxfire gang, a secret female-only society, recognized by the flame tattooed on the back of its members’ shoulders...(more) Cast: Comprised of unknown actresses. List Worthy Reasons...: It'll be a great 2012 for fans of the Palme d'Or winning director Laurent Cantet, as he explores both Havana (La Fuente) with his Sunday piece in 7 Days and with this English language first. With The Class, the filmmaker certainly felt at ease working with teens,...

Cannes Film Festival, In Competition

CANNES -- Laurent Canet's camera never leaves a French high school as he takes a raw look at a school year through the eyes of a single teacher in "Class" (whose French title "Entre les Murs" or "Between the Walls" accurately captures the self-imposed quarantine). This yields a highly dramatic and candid look at the challenges facing a nation that prides itself on its egalitarianism yet is now being confronted with a multi-ethnic citizenry that does not always embrace its hallowed traditions. While the film probably limits itself to French-speakers and Francophiles, the issues are clearly universal to all multicultural societies.

The film is based on a novel by Francois Begaudeau, written from his own experiences as a teacher. He also contributes to the screenplay and plays the key role of a French language teacher, so we can be pretty certain the film stays true its subject. Canet also shot in a classroom using three cameras so he was able to shoot continuously for up to 20 minutes, giving the film a documentary flavor.

While Begaudeau's teacher struggles to get his young charges to focus on French verbs, they interrupt to question why in his examples he always uses "white" names or whether the required reading has any relevancy to their lives.

Many students come from abroad; some have parents who are undocumented immigrants. They kid a lot, some of it good-natured but much of it comes closer to mockery. Their intolerance stems from attitudes about how other students look and behave, where they are from and how they speak.

As the year goes by, the students and Begaudeau's fellow teachers come into sharper focus. One student from Mali (played by Franck Keita) increasingly upsets the class with his attitude and anger. Like many, he isn't clear what school can offer him. He is sullen and retreats into rage, possibly to disguise his own fear of failure. Then the teacher himself makes a fateful miscalculation.

What works so well here is that none of the drama feels the least bit imposed. It evolves naturally from class assignments, the teacher's own free-form style and the distinctly individual personalities of these young people thrown together by chance. While it may lack the narrative drive of films from the past such as "Blackboard Jungle", it also contains nothing contrived or gimmicky. This is probably one of the most realistic high school movies ever made.

Production companies: Haut et Court

Cast: Francois Begaudeau, Franck Keita, Wei Huang, Nassim Amrabt, Atouma Dioumassy.

Director: Laurent Canet.

Screenwriters: Laurent Canet, Robin Campillo, Francois Begaudeau.

Based on the novel by: Francois Begaudeau

Producers: Caroline Benjo, Carol Scotta, Barbara Letellier, Simon Arnal

Director of photography: Pierre Milon, Catherine Pujol, Georgi Lazarevski.

Production designer: Sabine Barthelemy, Helene Bellanger.

Costume designer: Marie Le Garrec.

Editor: Robin Camillo.

Sales: Memento Films International.

No rating, 128 minutes.