Institut des hautes études cinématographiques
Klapisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to Auschwitz. He studied cinema at the as well as at the University of Paris VIII. He was rejected on two occasions by the French film school IDHEC (Institut des hautes études cinématographiques), now known as La fémis. He later attended the film school at New York University from 1983 to 1985. During the 1980s, he started to shoot short films such as "In transit" or "Ce qui me meut". He subsequently worked as a scriptwriter and he became a director for feature films. He has also directed a nature documentary for French television.