2024 FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS TO YOU:

Director:  Léa Todorov

Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Leïla Bekhti, Rafaëlle Sonneville-Caby

Rating: Mature 18 | Sexual Scenes and Some Nudity

In 1900, Lili d'Alengy, a famous Parisian courtesan, has a shameful secret - her daughter Tina, born with a handicap. Unwilling to care for a child who threatens her career, she decides to leave Paris for Rome. There, she meets Maria Montessori, a medical doctor who is developing a revolutionary learning method for children then known as “deficient”. But Maria was also hiding a secret: a child born out of wedlock. Together, the two women will help each other win their place in this man's world and make history.

Set against the backdrop of early 20th-century Rome, the film explores Montessori's struggle against societal prejudices towards neurodivergent individuals and her commitment to women's liberation. With sensible and convincing interpretations from Leïla Bekhti and Jasmine Trinca, Léa Todorov's debut feature reveals a novelistic period film whose overarching themes still resonate today, especially the fragile desire to move beyond the social shame associated with difference.

99 mins

In French and Italian with English subtitles

Drama, Historic

France, Italy, 2024
Presented by: 

          ★★★★ La Voix du Nord

★★★★ Les Echos

  ★★★★ Le Parisien

    "A poignant drama produced with infinite sensitivity" Télé 7Jours

So France will be open throughout the French Film Festival until the start of the last screening of the day. Come enjoy a French-style meal or snack before each of your screenings !

Group of 8 or more (friends, family, company, school...) can benefit from the AF members price by sending an email to rsvp@alliancefrancaise.org.sg. Please check the date of the screening before getting your tickets. Tickets are non refundable.