First French film to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival since 1987. According to jury president Sean Penn, the choice was unanimous.
According to U.K. publication the Independent, Laurent Cantet selected the cast of teenagers from those who signed up for a year of workshop sessions, at three hours a week. The parents in the film are, with one exception, those of the students in real life.
Based on a traditional script that provided a structure behind the largely improvised classroom conversations.
The French title - Entre les murs - translated into English means "Between the Walls" (as in a classroom).
Former Parisian teacher François Bégaudeau is playing a version of himself.