RIDM 2015: Police Académie

COP CLASS (POLICE ACADÉMIE)

by MÉLISSA BEAUDET

PREMIER LONG MÉTRAGE - FIRST FEATURE - REPORT ON QUEBEC
2015 / Colour / Canada - Quebec / 87 min. / French & English

The film version I watched had no English subtitles.

The film shows how police officers are trained in Quebec, what type of systematic physical endurance they have to undergo to build body fitness and strength, and the type of situation enactments they have to participate in to ensure they could deal with the real life situations. Unfortunately, the film does not elaborate on the future police officers selection process, especially their psychological testing, but only states that 800 people apply to the Police Academy every year, and only 100 are chosen among them with the average academic achievement in the region of about 86%. 

The film reveals to what an extend a lot of police work has social rather than criminal nature. However, it does not address how the future policeman are taught to deal with such purely social issues. Or maybe such aspects of their future work is not fully covered during their training? Some borderline social-criminal cases are addressed but it appears they are approached more from the criminal point of view.

The three people in focus in this film all show a great amount of enthusiasm about their chosen future profession. Yet the film at the end also states that quite a number of policemen experience the feeling of disillusionment. Unfortunately, it does not elaborate in this subject.

If you are interested to know how the future policemen are trained, then this film is for you. But do not expect any real journalistic analysis of the process. 

Film's Official Synopsis

"How are our police officers trained? With commendable objectivity and a keen eye, Mélissa Beaudet tries to demystify the underpinnings of an occupation often decried for its lack of transparency by following three very different cadets during their final year of training. In spite of themselves, the three can’t help but represent common stereotypes – the naïve brute, the daddy’s girl, the sensitive intellectual. The director manages to see beyond clichés to describe the complexity of the issues these future police officers are dealing with. Anything but a manipulative broadside, Police Académie does justice to the daily efforts of cadets and their instructors, who must constantly juggle law enforcement and social work."

Presented in collaboration with Radio-Canada.

COUNTRY : QUEBEC
YEAR : 2015
LANGUAGE : FRENCH
SUBTITLES : FRENCH, ENGLISH
RUNTIME : 87 MIN
PRODUCTION : STÉPHANIE VERRIER
CINEMATOGRAPHY : FRANÇOIS MESSIER-RHEAULT
EDITING : JULES SAULNIER
SOUND : CYRIL BOURSEAUX, BERNARD GARIÉPY STROBL, SYLVAIN BELLEMARE

CONTACT
(PRODUCTION)
STÉPHANIE VERRIER
LES PRODUCTIONS FLOW
INFO@PRODUCTIONSFLOW.CA

MÉLISSA BEAUDET

FILMOGRAPHY
PREMIER LONG MÉTRAGE - FIRST FEATURE

Watch the FILM'S TRAILER on VIMEO.

For more information about the documentary film festival visit the RIDM website.