A Masterclass in cinema

With its rows of desks and chairs, the room set aside for the encounter between the film-maker and the students looked just like a classroom. There was one big difference: here, the teacher wasn’t the only one allowed to speak. Quite the opposite in fact. Yanis Koussim, one of the directors of the Algerian new wave, played the interactivity card and lent himself willingly to a lively question and answer session.

Who is he? Why did he choose the cinema? What is the role of the producer? The questions flew from all sides, showing a deal of interest for the career of this young director in particular and for the cinema industry in general. The debate certainly will have helped the students understand how the movie world works, its different crafts and techniques and the career possibilities that it offers. It was also an opportunity for Yanis Koussim to share his vision of that world, his desires and his passions. “I learnt loads of things, especially about short films, explained Najda, a student at the Lycée Victor Hugo. “I would never have thought it took so long to make a short”.

At the end of thirty minutes discussion, Yanis Koussim treated the students to a screening of his latest short film, Khouya (My Brother). The second part of a trilogy, this film tells the story of three sisters who try to get away from submission to their tyrannical brother. It was a theme that students warmed to: “I learnt a lot about Algerian culture”, said Jasmine, also a student at the Lycée Victor Hugo. “It helps you understand the differences between cultures.”

This afternoon, the students are due to attend the screening of Rebecca H, in Un Certain Regard, after which they will be heading back to Marseilles and their schoolrooms, with their heads full of the sights and sounds of their first Cannes Film Festival.