HOW I CAME TO HATE MATH /
Comment j’ai détesté les maths

 

North American Premiere • Documentary • France, 2013

DCP • 1.85 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 103 min

 

Directed by: Olivier Peyon

Written by: Olivier Peyon, Amandine Escoffier

Cinematography: Alexis Kavyrchine

Film Editing: Tina Baz Le Gal, Fabrice Rouaud

Original Score: Nicolas Kuhn, Olivier Peyon

Produced by: Laurence Petit & Carole Scotta (Haut et Court), Bruno Nahon (Zadig Films)

Cast: Anne Siety, Cédric Villani, François Sauvageot, George Papanicolaou, Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, Jim Simons, Robert Bryant

International Sales: Doc & Film International

 

For most people the words “math” and “exciting” don’t go together. In fact for some they might as well be words from different languages. How I Came To Hate Math takes a humorous look at math’s apparent ability to repel en masse and suggests that the haters are giving the numbers racket a bum rap. Olivier Peyon interviews math celebrities from around the world, including Cédric Villani, winner of math’s Nobel Prize, the Fields Medal in 2010, Stanford University Professor George Papanicolaou, and mathematician/hedge fund manager Jim Simons. With engaging stories and simple explanations, these experts reveal that math is not only central to our technology and our economy – it’s the invisible clockwork behind our lives. But a word of warning, you just might come away thinking math is exciting.

 

Nominated for a Best Documentary César in 2014, How I Came To Hate Math is the second feature length film from writer/director Olivier Peyon. Prior to this, Peyon was known for Stolen Holidays (2007), a dramatic comedy about a grandmother (Bernadette Lafont) who takes her grandkids on a vacation, but somehow neglects to return them. He is known for translating major English language films for French distribution, including Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Trainspotting, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Being John Malkovich, and The Usual Suspects. From 2009 to 2011, he wrote and directed two documentary portraits for the prestigious French television series Empreintes.

 

“The film makes math wizards friendly and turns equations into verse.”  

- Isabelle Reigner LE MONDE