La Fémis (French: ''École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l'Image et du Son''; "National Superior School for the Professions of Image and Sound", formerly known as the '' Institut des hautes études cinématographiques'', IDHEC) is a French

grande école A ''grande école'' () is a specialised university that is separate from, but parallel and often connected to, the main framework of the French public university system. The grandes écoles offer teaching, research and professional training in s ...

and the film and television school of PSL Research University. ''FEMIS'' () is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for ''Fondation Européenne pour les Métiers de l'Image et du Son'' ("European Foundation for the Professions of Image and Sound"). Based in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, it offers courses balanced between artistic research, professional development and technical training.

History

From 1944 to 1985, the IDHEC ( Institut des hautes études cinématographiques) was the main French film school — training 1,439 French and foreign film professionals. In 1985, the school was restructured under the supervision of the then Minister of Culture Jack Lang and La Fémis was created in 1986. Originally, scriptwriter

Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorary ...

was its president and Jack Gajos was its director. When La Fémis was created, the school had seven teaching departments: direction, screenwriting, picture, sound, editing, production, and set design. A script continuity course was added in 1992 and a distribution/exploitation course in 2003. Lastly the master-class workshop, a European production training program, was co-created with the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Ludwigsburg, Germany in 2002. La Fémis is a full member of

CILECT The International Association of Film and Television Schools (French: ''Centre international de liaison des écoles de cinéma et de télévision'', CILECT) is the association of the world's major film and television schools.Palais de Tokyo (Paris 16e), moving on February 15, 1999, to the old ''Rapid Film'' -

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment ...

Studios at 6, rue Francoeur (18e). Their founder and French prime class producer

Bernard Natan Bernard Natan (born Natan Tannenzaft; 14 July 1886 – October 1942) was a French-Romanian film entrepreneur, director and actor of the 1920s and 1930s. Natan was deported to Auschwitz after the studio he owned went bankrupt, and his reputation ...

was deported by the Nazis in 1942. In 2019 the French director Michel Hazanivicius was appointed as

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of the board.

Curriculum

The main curriculum students follow a four-year training course. During the first year, they all follow the same general course: initiation into the various jobs involved in filmmaking, experimenting in every technical position within a film crew. During the second and third year, they follow a specific curriculum depending on the department they have chosen, including theoretical classes, exercises, days devoted to film analysis, analytical seminars and collective exercises making films. They spend their fourth year fulfilling an individual end-of-studies project (known as "travail de fin d'études" or TFE) and taking part in their classmates' projects. In sum, the school is designed to foster an applied cinephilia, in which the study of films past and present underwrites advanced skills in the practicalities of filmmaking; returning alumni, like Jean Paul Civeyrac, who come back to themselves lead seminars, carry on this tradition of encouraging advanced auteurist ambitions among the new students. The school is the subject of a 2016 French film called ''Le Concours (The Graduation)'', directed by Claire Simon about the exhaustive application process to be accepted as a student.

Rankings

In 2012, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' rated La Fémis no. 6 in its best international film school rankings (it included U.S.-based film schools) and no. 3 in its 2014 best international film school rankings (it excluded U.S.-based film schools). Its alumni have won three of the world's most prestigious film prizes –

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

Golden Palm The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguis ...

and

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

's Golden Bear – 11 times, making it the most rewarded film school in the world, preceding the Beijing Film Academy and the Tisch School of the Arts of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, in winning those three prizes.

Alumni

La Fémis has trained over 700 students in all filmmaking trades: directors, screenwriters, producers, editors, cameramen, sound engineers, decorators, script supervisors, distributors and exhibition managers/executives. Among them: ''(in alphabetical order)'' *

Omar Amiralay Omar Amiralay ( ar, عمر أميرالاي) (1944 – 5 February 2011) was a Syrian documentary film director and civil society activist. He is noted for the political criticism in his films, and played a prominent role in the events of the Dam ...

* Theo Angelopoulos *

Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for directing ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), '' The Bear'' (1988), '' The Lover'' (1992), '' Seven Years in ...

* Hélène Angel * Solveig Anspach *

Emmanuelle Bercot Emmanuelle Bercot (born 6 November 1967) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film '' Clément'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Her 2013 film '' On My Way'' premiered in competi ...

* Yves Boisset * Céline Bozon * Daniel H. Byun * Christine Carrière * Yves Caumont *

Alain Cavalier Alain Cavalier (; born 14 September 1931) is a French film director. Biography Cavalier was born in Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher and studied film at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques. He won several awards, including the César Award ...

* Renaud Cohen * Henri Colpi *

Antony Cordier Antony may refer to: * Antony (name), a masculine given name and a surname * Antony, Belarus, a village in the Hrodna Voblast of Belarus * Antony, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, United Kingdom ** Antony House, Cornwall, United Kingdom * Anton ...

* Alain Corneau * Jean-Paul Civeyrac *

Alfonso Gumucio Dagron Alfonso Gumucio Dagron (born October 31, 1950) is a Bolivian writer, filmmaker, journalist, photographer and development communication specialist. His father was Alfonso Gumucio Reyes, a leader of the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) ...

Marina de Van Marina de Van (; born 8 February 1971) is a French film director, screenwriter and actress. Her film, '' Don't Look Back'', was screened out of competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Her brother is , he appeared with her in the 1998 f ...

Claire Denis Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...

* Arnaud Desplechin * Julia Ducournau *

Robert Enrico Robert Georgio Enrico (13 April 1931 – 23 February 2001) was a French film director and scriptwriter best known for making the Oscar-winning short ''An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'' (1961). He was born in Liévin, Pas-de-Calais, in the nort ...

Pascale Ferran Pascale Ferran (; born 17 April 1960) is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2007, her film '' Lady Chatterley'' won five César Awards including Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Adaptation. Her 2014 film '' Bird People'' was sel ...

Sophie Fillières Sophie Fillières (born 20 November 1964) is a French film director and screenwriter who has written for more than fifteen film and television productions since 1991. Filmography References External links * 1964 births Living people F ...

Christophe Gans Christophe Gans (born 11 March 1960) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter who specializes in horror and fantasy movies. Life and career Gans was born in Antibes, France. As a teenager, he spent a large portion of his time cre ...

Costa Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

* Delphine Gleize * Marc-Djibril Glissant * Ruy Guerra *

Johan van der Keuken Johan van der Keuken (; 4 April 1938 – 7 January 2001) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker, author, and photographer. In a career that spanned 42 years, Van der Keuken produced 55 documentary films, six of which won eight awards. He also wrot ...

Jean L'Hôte Jean L'Hôte (13 January 1929 – 28 April 1985) was a French screenwriter and film director. He worked on 21 films between 1958 and 1985. Selected filmography * ''Mon Oncle'' (1958) * ''Le Prussien ''Le Prussien'' is a 1971 French ma ...

Patrice Leconte Patrice Leconte (; born 12 November 1947) is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter. Life and career Leconte grew up in Tours, and began making little amateur films at 15. He went to Paris in 1967 and studied at Ins ...

* Paul Leduc * Noémie Lvovsky * Laetitia Masson *

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down," Malle's filmogr ...

Claude Miller Claude Miller (20 February 1942 – 4 April 2012) was a French film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his fi ...

* Orso Miret *

Emmanuel Mouret Emmanuel Mouret (born 30 June 1970) is a French actor, director and screenwriter. Life and career He was born on 30 June 1970 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. He graduated from La Fémis (9th promotion, dire ...

François Ozon François Ozon (; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter. Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers. His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeli ...

Manuel Pradal Manuel Pradal (22 March 1964 – 13 May 2017) was a French film director and screenwriter. He wrote the scenarios for all the films he directed. Pradal died on 13 May 2017 in Paris after a long illness, aged 53. Awards and nominations His 19 ...

* Alain Resnais *

Éric Rochant Éric Rochant (born 24 February 1961) is a French film director and screenwriter. He is an alumnus of the IDHEC ( FEMIS) from the generation of Arnaud Desplechin and Noémie Lvovsky. Rochant is of Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, ...

* Paulo Rocha * Am Rong * Claude Sautet * Céline Sciamma *

Partho Sen-Gupta Partho Sen-Gupta (also spelled Partho Sen Gupta or Partho Sengupta pronounced ''Partho Shen-Goopto'') is an independent film director and screenwriter. He is a French citizen, of Indian origin. He has a post-graduate in Film Direction from FEMI ...

André Téchiné André Téchiné (; born 13 March 1943) is a French screenwriter and film director. He has a long and distinguished career that places him among the most accomplished post- New Wave French film directors. Téchiné belongs to a second generation ...

* Eskil Vogt * Hu Wei *

Andrzej Żuławski Andrzej Żuławski (; 22 November 1940 – 17 February 2016) was a Polish film director and writer. Żuławski often went against mainstream commercialism in his films, and enjoyed success mostly with European art-house audiences. In the late 1 ...

References

External links

*
La Fémis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fémis, La Film schools in France Educational institutions established in 1944 Culture of Paris Education in Paris Mass media in Paris 1944 establishments in France