Véra Belmont, an exceptional patron
On the release of the film Surviving with wolves, Sciences Po Paris and the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation allowed students from the Felix Mayer “Lycée" in Creutzwald, in Moselle, to attend a special screening of the film in the presence of director Véra Belmont.
The Felix Mayer “Lycée" is one of five French “lycées" that are taking part in a huge educational experiment launched in 2006 by Sciences Po with the support of the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation. Its aim is to create spirals of success for “lycées" in urban renewal zones and remote farming areas, providing more access to culture and opening up access to “lycées".
Surviving with wolves is the story of a small 8-year-old girl who wanders through Nazi Europe searching for her parents. This movie is drawn from the autobiography of Misha Defonseca, and provides a moving testimony to the Holocaust.
The movie was shown on Wednesday January 30th in the village hall in Creutzwald. It was followed by a question & answer session between Year 2 students and Véra Belmont. An extremely varied, sometimes moving session, that was difficult to draw to an end given the many questions. About Mischa’s story. The secrets of film-making. Adapting a book for the cinema. And Véra Belmont’s career.
For Véra Belmont, who has agreed to be patron of this experimental “lycée", "Education in France is too rigid, too formatted. It does not allow students to express their creativity. We have to put an end to abstract concepts and develop this type of experiment that are absolutely necessary to combat educational failure and inspire vocations."
