Raindance Festival 2025, The Academy at the Vue,

The Academy, written and produced by Camilla Guttner, is a semi-autographical love letter, told through the eyes of young eager and tenacious art student Jojo played by Maja Bons, who “discovers the microcosm of an art academy”.  She navigates her probationary year at the elite Munich Academy of Fine Arts, the film exploring constellations of artists, anxieties and pedagogies that she encounters constantly.

Jojo is forced to confront challenging obstacles, she is forced to watch the rapid decline of her grandmother’s health, and she is unabatingly critiqued by her eccentric professor – Guttner deftly sketches a fascinating exploration of mental health and the pervasive fear of failure within an increasingly competitive academic environment.

Maja Bons won Best Actress at the 2025  Bayerischer Filmpreis.

The Academy brings an iconic campus to the screen exploring the cognition of creation against artistic movements.