SCHOOL LIFE
O.V in French subtitled in English and Spanish
We have to get to know how to look beyond the obvious. When Samia is assigned to teach at a "problematic students" high school, (dysfunctional families, delinquency and lack of opportunities on the horizon), she immediately sees the potential of the troubled Yanis. The greatest mind hides behind the insolence of the most recalcitrant personality. A film that speaks without euphemisms about the restrictions of the educational system and the actual connection between teachers and students without losing sight of hope even in a harsh environment. A film based on the directors own experience, Mehdi Idir and Grand Corps Malade, star of the Poetry Slam in France.
Direction : Grand Corps Malade, Mehdi Idir
Script : Grand Corps Malade, Mehdi Idir
Cinematography: Antoine Monod
Editing: Laure Gardette
Music: Angelo Foley
Sound: Jean-Paul Bernard, Raphaël Sohier, Élisabeth Paquotte, Éric Tisserand
Cast: Zita Hanrot, Liam Pierron, Soufiane Guerrab, Moussa Mansaly, Alban Ivanov, Antoine Reinartz, Redouane Bougheraba, Hocine Mokando, Gaspard Gevin Hié, Moryfère Camara
Production: Éric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer, Jean-Rachid
Production Company: Mandarin Cinéma, Kallouche Cinéma, Gaumont, France 3 Cinéma
GRAND CORPS MALADE
Grand Corps Malade, whose real name is Fabien Marsaud, was born on 31st of 1977 in Blanc-Mesnil (France). In 1997 he had a serious accident in a swimming pool. He needed more than a year to recover the partial use of his legs. He used this period of his life to write, and in 2003 began his career in Paris within the collective 129H. He chose the name, the "Grand Corps Malade", referring to his disability and his height. He has an extensive discography under his belt and a fruitful career in slam poetry. The film Step by Step (2017) was his first feature film, made together with Medhi Idir, with whom he also directed School Life in 2019.
MEHDI IDIR
Born in Seine-Saint-Denis in 1979, Idir studied audiovisuals and began filming dance battles. He was a hip hop dancer himself, and that's how he met the group Wanted Posse, world hip hop dance champion, and made them a video that caught the attention of TF1, who financed a documentary about the group. In 2007 he made Paris By Light with the artist Marko 93, which opened doors for him to do advertising and to work for Canal+. In 2006 he came to know Grand Corps Malade, with whom he became friends, and began to make him videos. In 2015 he made his first short film Le bout du tunnel, inspired by a song by Grand Corps Malade, with whom he teamed up to make his first feature film, Patients, in 2017, nominated for the Cesars. The two are reunited for their second feature, School Life, in 2019.