In Vire Normandie, Curie High Schools cinema option threatened: Its not an additional device

The cinema option at Marie-Curie high school, in Vire Normandy, long championed by Alain Bihel, is now facing the threat of being eliminated. Featuring testimony from Jeanne Marchalot, the first in a series, we look back at the lasting impact of this program.

“It was a rare initiative at the time,” recalls Alain Bihel, former teacher of classical literature and historical supervisor of the cinema option. Launched in 1987, this teaching has marked several generations of students.

A Calling Born at the High School

Now leading the StoryLab of France Télévisions, Jeanne Marchalot is a vivid example. From the second class, she remembers: “Back then, the option offered remarkable rigor and richness.” A concrete and rigorous education: film analysis, making a short film for the baccalaureate, an active film club, participation in festivals, and connections with the professional world. “It wasn’t just an added program. It was a space for transformation.” Even though she didn’t pursue film studies until 30 years later, this initial experience profoundly shaped her perspective.

These studies instilled in me a sensitivity and a way of thinking about images that have never left me.

A Professional Impact

After 26 years in the audiovisual industry, Jeanne Marchalot fully understands “the impact of this education,” which led her to participate in internationally recognized projects, including winning two Lions at the Venice Film Festival and walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. For her, the elimination of this program would have significant consequences.

Closing such an option is not just about removing a subject. It’s cutting off a crucial entry point to vocations. In a world saturated with images, learning to understand, produce, and question them is not a luxury. It’s a necessity.

A History Rooted in the Region

In 1987, Marie-Curie high school in Vire opened its first cinema option. “Principal Jean-Claude Morisson, a cinema enthusiast, made sure it came to fruition,” explains Alain Bihel. Two teachers and a professional instructor accompanied the students, blending artistic practice with technical training. Today, around 150 institutions in France offer this program. In Normandy, the offering remains limited, and Marie-Curie high school plays a key role in the region.

A Threatened Program Today

The announced elimination is a cause for concern among teachers and students.

Interrupting a three-year training cycle is harsh. Those who had already started this path lose an essential pedagogical continuity.

Beyond this aspect, the program plays a major role in terms of equal opportunities: “It allows all students, regardless of their means, to access an artistic practice often inaccessible outside of the school environment. Removing it would reserve culture for a privileged minority.”

A Vocation Catalyst

For Alain Bihel, this program also serves as a catalyst for students in search of purpose:

Many find here a space to flourish and discover callings they wouldn’t have imagined elsewhere.

It also contributes to the attractiveness of the high school and the region, attracting students from afar and energizing the school environment. Its disappearance could, conversely, lead some families to seek alternatives.

In this context, Jeanne Marchalot’s journey reminds us of what this program can trigger: a developed perspective, an affirmed sensitivity, and sometimes even a vocation.

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