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Our Body

Directors

Claire Simon

Producers

Kristina Larsen

Editors

Luc Forveille

Cinematographers

Claire Simon

Veteran documentarian Claire Simon observes the everyday operations of the gynecological ward in a public hospital in Paris. In the process, she questions what it means to live in a woman’s body, filming the diversity, singularity, and beauty of patients in all stages of life. We see cancer screenings and fertility appointments, a teenager dealing with an unwanted pregnancy, and a trans woman considering the beginnings of menopause. Through these encounters and many more, the specific fears, desires, and struggles of these individuals become the health challenges we all face, even the filmmaker herself.

 

Courtesy of The Cinema Guild

OurBody_C.Simon

Claire Simon

Director, Our Body

Born in London, Claire Simon grew up in France and began her studies in ethnology while also learning in Arabic. Self-taught, she learned to edit and directed her first short films in the 1970s, before joining the Ateliers Varan, where she became familiar with the realist style of direct cinema. During her prolific career, the filmmaker has combined true and fictional stories, as illustrated in her films It Burns (Ça brûle) (2005), or Playtime (1992), a documentary that explores the social life of children on a kindergarten playground.

 

In 2008, her film God’s Offices (Les Bureaux de Dieu) (2008), a work of realist fiction, receives the SACD prize at the Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight. In 2016, Claire Simon wins the Award for Best Documentary at the Venice International Film Festival with The Graduation (Le concours). Our Body (Notre Corps) premiered at Berlinale / Forum in 2023.