Eicar, the film school that only sells dreams – Liberation

Owned by a financial group, the school attracts more students to its Paris campus each year. But, according to the students we interviewed, the content of the training is far from resembling what was sold: courses canceled, equipment unavailable… Few dare to complain about it, for fear of tainting their “diploma” with 24 000 euros.

He talks fast during his break at work – it’s not stretchy and he has a lot to say. Dylan (1), 25, is a salesman in a gym. The mood is good, but that wasn’t the plan. He made a promise to himself Star Wars, at the age of 6: work one day in the cinema. “My childhood was not pleasant. I clung to this dream.”

The major public schools, Louis-Lumière and La Fémis, are ultra-selective. Private formations are expensive, but blink to bait. “Your future depends only on you: Master Your Art”, promises the Eicar, which has just celebrated its 50th anniversary. A solid institution, thinks Dylan. The website makes you want to: images of happy students behind cameras bigger than them, the mention “former students awarded at Cannes”, the logo of recognition from the State, the Campus France label, a guarantee of quality in the reception of international students… And then, the brand new campus of 6,900 m2 glazed on the edge of Paris is impressive.

So, convinced that dreams have a price, Dylan rushes to pay the registration fees. 24,000 euros for three years of training. It is twice as expensive for students coming from abroad. For months, Dylan left college to combine jobs – pawn during the day, pizza delivery after dark, laborer on construction sites at weekends. Until this scooter accident, one evening of fatigue. Five screws and a pin in