Apprendre (Elementary)

With Apprendre, Claire Simon returns to the microcosm of school, which she has already explored on film several times (Récréations, Premières solitudes, Le concours). At a public primary school in a Parisian suburb, Simon follows the children at eye level during lessons and in the playground. Here, however, the teachers are not only concerned with teaching the subject matter, but also with supporting the children in their social learning. It all starts with a teacher's hand, which offers a newcomer a sense of security and helps them to find their feet in the unfamiliar terrain of the school system, which is orientated towards the adult world. The children's scuffles in Récréations are to be replaced by a new method: talking to each other instead of fighting. (Andrea Pollach)

In the presence of Claire Simon on 17.1.2025
Austrian premiere

Photo: Austrian Film Museum