The Path of Excellence

Frédéric
Mermoud

Currently based in Paris, filmmaker Frédéric Mermoud was born in 1969 in Sion. After gaining a Master’s degree in philosophy, he continued his studies at the Ecole cantonale d’art in Lausanne (ECAL). His first fiction short, Son jour à elle (1998), was screened at several international festivals. He subsequently made numerous other well-received and award-winning short films, including L’escalier (with Nina Meurisse) in 2003, which won the Golden Pardino at Locarno and the Swiss Cinema Best Short Film Prize in 2004. Rachel, once again featuring his favourite actress Nina Meurisse, was presented on the Piazza Grande in 2006, followed a year later by Le créneau (featuring Emmanuelle Devos and Hippolyte Girardot) in the section Ici & Ailleurs. He has also directed a TV movie produced by TSR, Bonhomme de chemin, which won the Best Swiss TV Film Prize at the Festival Cinéma Tout Ecran in Geneva.

Sophie is a brilliant student. Encouraged by her math teacher, she leaves the family farm to try her chance at the entrance exam for top rated schools by enrolling in a preparatory science class. Facing new encounters, challenges, failures, and fierce competition, Sophie realizes that entering the prestigious engineering school of Polytechnique, is not just a question of competition, but a challenge of climbing the social ladder.