The story
From 1944 to 1985, the IDHEC (Institut des hautes études cinématographiques) was the main French film school — training 1,439 French and foreign film professionals.
In 1985, the school was restructured under the supervision of the then Minister of Culture Jack Lang and La Fémis was created in 1986. Originally, scriptwriter Jean-Claude Carrière was its president and Jack Gajos was its director.
When La Fémis was created, the school had seven teaching departments: direction, screenwriting, picture, sound, editing, production, and set design. A script continuity course was added in 1992 and a distribution/exploitation course in 2003. Lastly the master-class workshop, a European production training program, was co-created with the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Ludwigsburg, Germany in 2002. La Fémis is a full member of CILECT, the international network of film schools.
The school is now a public establishment under the responsibility of the Ministry of culture and communication. The school first opened in the Palais de Tokyo (Paris 16e), moving on 15 February 1999, to the old Rapid Film - Pathé Studios at 6, rue Francoeur (18e). Their founder and French prime class producer Bernard Natan was deported by the Nazis in 1942.
In 2019 the French director Michel Hazanivicius was appointed as chairman of the board.
From Wikipedia’s article on La Fémis, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4