Elementary

Dir. Claire Simon. 2024, 105 min. France. DCP. In French with English subtitles. The latest immersive work from documentary master Claire Simon takes us into Makarenko, a public elementary school in the Parisian suburb Ivry-sur-Seine, over the course of a school year. Simon’s presence remains in sync with an institution committed to empathy and tolerance; the camera stays at the height of—and from the perspective of—the young students, non-judgmentally observing them as they vent, nod off, or just need time alone. While the faces and personalities of teachers and students come to the fore, Elementary stays most attentive to moments, to the glorious unpredictability of human interaction and the revelations of learning. U.S. premiere 

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members at the Senior/Student level and above. There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

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About the filmmaker:

Documentary filmmaker Claire Simon’s films reflect the questions she never stops asking: what is a story? What is a story nowadays? She makes a hero out of anyone she’s filming, whether children, a young couple, young teenagers, a 50-year-old lesbian, or family counselors. Born in London, Claire Simon grew up in France and began her studies in ethnology while also learning in Arabic. Self-taught, she learned to edit and directed her first short films in the 1970s, before joining the Ateliers Varan, where she became familiar with the realist style of direct cinema.