Entre les murs (Collection Folio (Gallimard))

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The English-language version of Entre les murs was published in April 2009 by Seven Stories Press under the title The Class. We exaggerated ourselves but only because there are people in real classrooms who are insolent, so we had to show that. It was obvious to me that the students would bring a humour to the film, that they would be less predictable than a professional actor who has learned his lines and has all the technique. This film shows it as it really is and, for me, it is very credible - there are good moments and there are bad moments. Teaching is the most noble profession of them all, in my honest opinion; unfortunately, it is the worst paid.

The film raises many questions that have to do with teaching but also with the school system and how it brings to the fore social issues such as immigration, racism and antisemitism.Winner of a Palme d'Or at Cannes last year and now up for an Oscar, The Class is a compelling film about teenagers at an inner-city Parisian school. After a disciplinary hearing at which Souleymane is supported by his mother, for whom he has to translate, he is ultimately expelled. The only thing I don't like is that on the film poster I'm making a face that I hate - it's bizarre to see yourself look so big.

The plot centres around a pivotal exchange between the teacher and a recalcitrant student, Souleymane, where the wrong choice of words leads to a dramatic unravelling of the classroom's febrile peace. Francois Begaudeau's memoir/novel about teaching in inner city Paris provides the basis for The Class, which inventively combines the best of the documentary and classic drama genres.The Class is a film with very little in the way of conventional action, but it's an exhilarating picture to watch nonetheless. Directed by Laurent Cantet, it chronicles a year in the life of a high-school classroom and uses actual pupils from Françoise Dolto as actors. The way it would work is Laurent would give me a theme [for the scene] and then I would improvise the dialogue. Fictionalizing that Esmeralda had read Plato's Republic was idiotic, and her explanation was atrocious. I am quite modest so I'm going to say I hope I was good, I hope I was believable, but it is the audience who decides.