An Education is a film.
An Education is a 2009 coming-of-age drama film based on a memoir of the same name by British journalist Lynn Barber . The film was nominated for three Academy Awards in 2010 : Best Picture and Writing ( Adapted Screenplay ) for Nick Hornby , and Best Actress for Carey Mulligan . An Education premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival . The film was shown on 9 October 2009 , at the Mill Valley Film Festival . Free education . Denmark also has universal free education , and provides a monthly stipend , the `` Statens Uddannelsesstøtte '' or `` SU '' , to students over 18 years of age or students who are under 18 and attending a higher education .