Filmed last summer at the Lycée Molière in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, an establishment built at the end of the 19th century that has retained the charm of its era,
“The School to Go Back in Time”
is a sociological experience mixed with a historical documentary.
“It’s an immersion in 100 years of school for fifteen students, three teachers and a director at four different periods
,” explains Renaud Rahard.
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“We are not in the idea of “it was better before”, we tell the story of this school and the way in which today's children perceive it
,” underlines the program director of Warner Bros, the production company .
The idea?
Adapt a British format launched in 2015 by the BBC, entitled "Back in Time for...", in which the protagonists go back in time on themes such as food, vacations, work...
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Immersion in five different eras
“Through what happens at school, we discover eras
,” notes the producer, Bruno Henriquet.
To conform to historical and chronological reality, the production relied on various archives and the presence of experts on set.
School programs, costumes, sets and customs have been reproduced as closely as possible to the reality of the chosen eras: 1880, 1930, 1950 and 1980.
“In 1880, it was the beginning of the secular and republican school made compulsory by Jules Ferry, the starting point of the school that we know today
,” explains Renaud Rahard.
We went up to 1980, a time when the way of teaching and the programs resulted from the crisis of 1968 with a much more interactive pedagogy.
And, in the middle, 1930 because there had to be enough changes compared to 1880. Finally 1950 because it is the post-war period, the place of women begins to evolve.
»
“I realized how lucky we were today”
Léna, student in “The school to go back in time”
On the one hand, the teachers and the director take responsibility for embodying their peers in these different periods, on the other, the adolescents discover and react spontaneously to this school of their ancestors.
“What interests us are the reactions of the children,”
confides the artistic producer, Solène Guyot.
“This experience made me grow
,” says Léna, a student.
I realized how lucky we were today.
»
Principal Alexandre Toussaint underlines the impact of this experience:
“Each time, we had our position in the given period and then we came back to 2023 to collect the students' impressions.
This made it possible to understand if what we did in the past was relevant to today, if it has evolved or if it no longer exists.
We had a concrete experience.
»
“We believe the school is eternal even though it is super young”
, analyzes the actor
Lorànt Deutsch
who lent his expert voice to this historical documentary which aims to create bonds and debate within the family, and to exchange between the generations.
“It’s true that it has always existed.
It was not Jules Ferry or Charlemagne who invented it.
But the big news was that it was open to all and compulsory.
It's not that old.
This venerable institution is still a young, poorly-coiffed teenager.
»