The Competition

The Competition

Being good is never enough

2017 · 119 min · ★ 6.8 · Documentary

An all-access tour behind the scenes at France’s premiere film school, La Fémis. Showing us how successful candidates get to follow in the footsteps of such luminaries as Louis Malle, François Ozon and Alain Resnais, all of whom attended this prestigious institution. Stumbling over their words, the often-nervous candidates seem vulnerable when confronted with the veterans of the industry, who have the difficult task of discovering true talent among all these eager young people.

Directed by Claire Simon · Written by Claire Simon

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The Competition

Writing Life – Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students

Both from Claire Simon.

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Writing Life – Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students

Writing Life – Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students · 2026

Writing Life – Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students

MovieDocumentary

A major figure in contemporary feminism and the first Frenchwoman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, Annie Ernaux is seen by many as a source of individual and collective emancipation, blending the intimate with the universal. Filmmaker Claire Simon has devoted an original portrait to her, giving students and teachers a voice.

Un petit cas de conscience

Un petit cas de conscience · 2002

Un petit cas de conscience

Two lesbians are victims of a break-in. Together with their clan of friends, they undertake a wild investigation, with suspense and rigour, to arrive at the truth. Sensitivities are aroused around life choices, and political choices. Questions of morality comically embellished with words of abuse falling into drunkenness.

Quand je serai jeune

Quand je serai jeune · 1988

Quand je serai jeune

May 68. While, outside, people are demonstrating, a man is finishing the editing of Baisers volés.

The Village

The Village · 2019

SeriesDocumentary

Lussas is a small village in South Ardeche, France, with only one main road crossing the village. This real village, with farmers and vineyards, is also turning over time into the Hollywood of documentary films. A few people are preparing the launch of a television channel. From this sweet utopia to the inauguration of a high-tech tool on the internet Claire Simon depicts a singular adventure of our times in 26 episodes.

Our Body

Our Body · 2023

MovieDocumentary

In a Parisian public hospital, Claire Simon questions what it means to live in women’s bodies, filming their diversity, singularity and their beauty in all stages throughout life. Unique stories of desires, fears and struggles unfold, including the one of the filmmaker herself.

Agosto

Summer of 1964. The professor Carlos and the couple Dário and Alda spend time together in the beach during vacations. Away from the colonial war, everything seems lost in time.

Plogoff, Stones Against Rifles

Plogoff, Stones Against Rifles · 1980

Plogoff, Stones Against Rifles

MovieDocumentary

February 1980, Plogoff. A whole town refuses the installation of a nuclear power station close to the Pointe du Raz, overlooking Sein island in the bay of Audierne opening onto the Atlantic Ocean. Six weeks of daily struggle led by local women, children, fishermen and farmers, determined to preserve the soul of this Finisterian land. Six weeks of joys, tenderness and drama... This is the historic epic of the people of Cap Sizun face to face with the pressures of modern society.

Ça brûle

Ça brûle · 2006

After falling off her horse, a teenage girl is rescued by a manly, older fireman with whom she falls in love with tragic consequences.

Récréations

Récréations · 1993

MovieDocumentary

As French kindergarteners pour forth for recess, play takes on epic proportions. In every corner, some miniature drama is unfolding. Violence, love, jealousy, treachery are all here! This is human society in the making.

Human Geography

Human Geography · 2013

Human Geography

MovieDocumentary

Gare du Nord in Paris is a transit station for all those coming from the suburbs, the provinces or abroad. Accompanied by Simon Mérabet, the son of Algerian immigrants from the Var, Human Geography offers a series of brief meetings with individuals who recount their lives in just a few words before disappearing to take their trains. The crowd of passengers is embodied in these stories, one life after another, and we see how globalization fashions individual destinies, subject to geographical and economic pressures.

At All Costs

At All Costs · 1995

MovieDocumentary

A small company valiantly struggles to survive under the respectful yet probing camera of Claire Simon in “At All Costs.” As the docu opens, founder and manager Jihad is off to see his banker. The lack of ready cash to pay his loyal employees, wholesale produce providers and a whole range of other creditors, including the tax-gobbling French government, is omnipresent. From a staff of 14, Jihad is down to three cooks, one delivery driver and a secretary in less than six months. The good-natured pluck of the remaining employees is at the heart of the film. Subterfuges for putting up a brave united front include scheduling food orders from a coin-operated pay phone when the office phone is cut off for nonpayment.

Subterfuge

Subterfuge · 1983

After committing a hit and run, a man insinuates himself into the lives of the victim's family.

God's Offices

God's Offices · 2008

MovieComedyDrama

A realist dramedy about dedicated social workers who devote their long shifts to helping pregnant women.

A Home at the End of the World

A Home at the End of the World · 2004

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MovieDramaRomance

Three friends form a bond over the year, Johnathan is gay, Clare is straight and Bobby is neither, instead he loves the people he loves. As their lives go on there is tension and tears which culminate in a strong yet fragile friendship between the three.

Young Solitude

Young Solitude · 2018

MovieDocumentary

Claire Simon portrays an important time for any individual, from 16 to 18 years of age. Set in the Paris suburbs in high school (for those lucky enough to go), teenagers chat after and even during class, sitting in the hallway or outside on a bench, looking at the city below them.

Mimi

MovieDocumentary

Mimi isn't a star, she's just someone. A close-up of the singularity of a real life. An encounter of someone's particular story, romance, fantasy and territories.

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Meet the Patels

Meet the Patels · 2014

Meet the Patels

MovieRomanceComedy

Finding love is never easy. For Ravi Patel, a first generation Indian-American, the odds are slim. His ideal bride is beautiful, smart, funny, family-oriented, kind and—in keeping with tradition—Indian (though hopefully raised in the US). Oh, and her last name should be Patel because in India, Patels usually marry other Patels. And so at 30, Ravi decides to break up with his American girlfriend (the one who by all accounts is perfect for him except for her red hair and American name) and embark on a worldwide search for another Patel longing to be loved. He enlists the help of his matchmaker mother, attends a convention of Patels living in the US and travels to wedding season in India. Witty, honest and heartfelt, this comedy explores the questions with which we all struggle: What is love? What is happiness? And how in the world do we go about finding them?

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