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

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. Claire Simon has devoted an original portrait to her, giving students and teachers a voice. Ernaux’s writing becomes a point of departure for conversations that move from the everyday to the momentous. Her unfiltered accounts — whether describing a trip to the supermarket or an abortion — invite the students to reflect on their own experiences with striking openness. Through this look at the process of transmission, Simon shows how the oeuvre of Ernaux, having taken its rightful place in world literature, continues to inspire young people in their quest for freedom and self-determination.

​​​​​​​Born in London in 1955 and raised in the Var region of France, Claire Simon came to cinema through editing before training at the Ateliers Varan. A filmmaker, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor, she has developed a body of work that moves freely between documentary and fiction. Alongside her filmmaking, she has taught at Paris 7 and Paris 8 and headed the directing department at La Fémis.