The Education of Jane Cumming | image+nation

Germany/Switzerland/United Kingdom, 2026, 114 min.
Director: Sophie Heldman
Original version with English subtitles
with Flora Nicholson, Clare Dunne, Mia Tharia, Fiona Shaw, Sadie Shimmin

Based on a true story of scandal in early-1800s Edinburgh that inspired The Children’s Hour, Sophie Heldman’s tragic historical drama pulls at the colonial threads originally left unpicked. Centering a defiant, mixed-race girl from Calcutta on the cusp of 16 and the two female teachers whose burgeoning attraction she intuits. A wealthy matriarch wants what’s best for her three granddaughters, ‘little women’ with big dreams. Or so she says. The truth is, her oldest granddaughter, Jane Cumming, is othered by her Indian heritage. Relegated to the sidelines, rebuffed by her family when she tries to fit in. But to her two kindly teachers, she is “no different,” and Jane flourishes under their tutelage. They grow close, Jane privy to hidden moments of connection that even the older women might not fully comprehend. Feeling entitled to the warmth and comfort of their presence—and an acknowledgment of the identity the three secretly share. A wish that will lead to cross-generational queer mentorship gone awry. A chilling warning of what happens when we are scared of those who might see us best.