Interview with Frédéric Bas and Caroline Brami, co-directors of L’Inspection

Where did you get the idea for the interview between the school inspector and the teacher?

We were looking for a situation that’s rarely seen in films about schools and that was likely to raise as many questions as possible about our profession. We thought the discussion between the inspector and the history teacher would be ideal.

What were you hoping to explore in their conversation?

It’s like a philosophical dialogue between experience, in the form of the professor, and the institution that’s in charge of it: the inspector comes to comment on and question Julia’s methods. The viewer witnesses the tense exchange between two points of view on schooling.

How did your collaboration work out?

Our common ground is our profession: we’ve both been teachers for over fifteen years! Aside from that, it was a shootout, very complementary and very tight trying to get the dialogue as accurate as possible.

What topics or genres do you try to deal with as filmmakers?

Realistic topics and subjects that question our relationship to reality, that explore people’s experiences…

Is there a particular short film that has made a strong impression on you?

There are many. Tout doit disparaître (Everything Must Go) by Jean-Marc Moutout (for Frédéric), Masel Tov Cocktail by Arkadij Khaet and Mickey Paatzsch (for Caroline).

What’s your definition of a good film?

The audience must forget their initial intentions and be captivated by the staging…