film synopsis
In the latest film from Laurent Cantet (The Class, PSIFF 2009), celebrated author Olivia Dejazet (Marina Foïs; Polisse) arrives in La Ciotat on the Mediterranean coast and is astonished to find the disparate students of her writing workshop bursting with inspired ideas and opinions about the state of the world. Lines are quickly drawn between the most vocal students of this once-thriving port town, including Muslim Malika and the hostile, conservative-leaning Antoine. A first-time teacher, Olivia envisions an ideal workshop that encourages ultimate freedom in subject matter, no matter the potential emotional toll. With Olivia’s blessing, Antoine shares his controversial short story about a fictionalized mass shooting and the rest of the group predictably reacts in horror. An unsettling admiration, possibly even an attraction, begins to emerge between the thriller novelist and her volatile student as the reins of the class dangerously slip from her grasp.