Published
Video length: 2 min
Cinema: The New Woman, story of the work and life of Maria Montessori
Cinema: The New Woman, story of the work and life of Maria Montessori
(Franceinfo)
Directed by Léa Todorov, “The New Woman” looks back on the life and work of the famous Italian doctor, at the origin of an alternative education method.
It’s a moving story. Maria Montessori, one of the first women to graduate from medicine in Italy, a true icon of alternative pedagogy. It revolutionizes education by offering a learning method for disabled children. “The New Woman” recounts the meeting between Maria and Lili d’Alengy, a demi-mondaine from Paris in 1900 who hides her little daughter who was born disabled. A caring inclusive pedagogy, based on visual and touch, still taught today in 25,000 establishments around the world.
Maria Montessori, “feminist without knowing it”
Maria has made it her hobby horse and despite a dark secret that could undermine her work, she wants to assert herself in a society eaten away by patriarchy. “She is a feminist, perhaps without knowing it. A complex woman who gave up her private life for this idea of fulfilling a scientific destiny”, explains actress Jasmine Trinca who plays her. Through this meeting with Lily, they will try to emancipate themselves, help each other and give each other the little power they have to gain their place as women, in an era largely dominated by men.
