Get in the School Spirit With Our Back-to-School Marathon
As the last embers of summer fade and fall ushers in cooler weather, you might suddenly feel a wave of anticipation and a stirring in your chest. That’s right, it’s school spirit. No matter your age, fall has the power to trigger that distinct and undeniable back-to-school excitement in anyone. Whether you’re a student still living your school days or it’s been decades but the nostalgia is strong, there’s nothing like watching a film about academia to get you in the back-to-school spirit.
This week, we have two films premiering on Kino Film Collection that showcase the wide spectrum of the academic experience. One is a documentary chronicling one of the most monumental college sporting events in history, and the other is a remake of a groundbreaking Weimar film about queer love at an all-girls boarding school. Plus, we’re spotlighting a few more titles from around the world, including a Moroccan feel-good film about self-expression, a black-and-white drama about film school in Paris, and its real-life documentary counterpart.
Stream our entire back-to-school marathon on Kino Film Collection.
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (2008)
Harvard Stadium — November 23, 1968. With Vietnam raging, Nixon in the White House, and issues from civil rights to women's lib dividing the country, Harvard and Yale, both teams undefeated for the first time since 1909, meet for the annual climax of the Ivy League football season. On the blue-blooded Yale campus, gridiron fever has made local celebrities out of a Yale team led by quarterback Brian Dowling, who hadn't lost a game that he finished since the 7th grade, and who was the role model for Doonesbury's "B.D." At civil unrest scarred Harvard, a melting pot team of working class players, antiwar activists, and a decorated Vietnam vet set aside their differences for the Big Game. Together, Yale and Harvard stage an unforgettable football contest that baffled even their own coaches.
Maedchen in Uniform (1958)
A landmark of queer cinema, Maedchen in Uniform (1958) follows a boarding school student who falls for her kind teacher, but her heartfelt confession sparks scandal in the strict institution. Starring Romy Schneider, this moving coming-of-age tale captures the heartache and confusion of a young woman’s sexual awakening.
Casablanca Beats (2021)
Morocco’s official submission to the 94th Academy Awards offers a refreshing dose of youthful inspiration alongside a powerful message about the power of self-expression. A former rapper takes a job at a cultural center in an underprivileged neighborhood in Casablanca and inspires his students to break free from the weight of restrictive traditions in order to live their passions.
A Paris Education (2018)
A serious and impressionable shaggy-haired young cinephile leaves behind his steady girlfriend in Lyon to study film in Paris. Settling into a dingy flat with a rotating cast of roommates, he immerses himself in a bohemian world of artists, intellectuals, and fellow film geeks. Shooting in timeless black and white, director Jean-Paul Civeyrac conjures a bittersweet ode to student life that evokes the films of the French New Wave.
The Competition (2016)
Claire Simon, one of France’s leading documentarians, gives an enlightening all-access tour behind the scenes at France’s premiere film school, La Femis, during its long and exhaustive admissions period, during which thousands upon thousands of would-be filmmakers are evaluated for their qualifications for forty cherished slots.