Alexandre Mourot is a French documentary filmmaker, AMI-certified Montessori educator, and father of two. He is the director of Let the Child Be the Guide (Le Maître est l’Enfant), the world’s first documentary filmed entirely inside a Montessori classroom over a full school year.
From Engineer to Documentary Filmmaker
After graduating as an engineer, Alexandre produced interactive CD-ROMs for major French publishers including Gallimard, Flammarion, Larousse, and ARTE Éditions. Seeking a more creative path, he studied art history at the Sorbonne, trained in photography, and later completed a documentary filmmaking course at the prestigious Ateliers Varan in Paris.
His first documentary, Poubelles et Sentiments (2009), explored humanity’s emotional attachment to objects and was selected for several international festivals. He also ran a travel journal website and was actively involved with Greenpeace and Les Amis de la Terre, reflecting his lifelong commitment to ecology and humanism.
The Birth of a Film — and a Vocation
On 25 March 2010, Alexandre became a father. Watching his daughter discover the world with extraordinary concentration and enthusiasm, he began observing in her the phenomena Maria Montessori had described — autonomy, vital impulse, self-discipline — without yet knowing who Montessori was.
In May 2014, he read his first Maria Montessori book. He was immediately captivated. Over the following months, he immersed himself in her complete works, visited 22 Montessori schools across France, met associations and teacher trainers, and began to envision a film that would show the Montessori approach in action — not through interviews or theory, but through pure observation of real children in a real classroom.
“I wanted to show the Montessori pedagogy at work. To enter the classroom, abandon all preconceptions, make myself invisible, and film the way Christian Maréchal brings Maria Montessori’s thinking to life.” — Alexandre Mourot
AMI Montessori Diploma
To understand the pedagogy deeply — beyond the scope of filmmaking — Alexandre completed the International Montessori Educator Training (3–6 years) with the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), training in Spain under Mexican educator Guadalupe Borbola. In 2018, he obtained his official AMI Montessori diploma.
This training gave him a unique dual perspective: that of a filmmaker and that of a trained Montessori educator — a combination that sets this documentary apart from any other film on the subject.
The Film — A Year Inside the Oldest Montessori School in France
After visiting and carefully evaluating 22 schools, Alexandre chose the class of Christian Maréchal at the École Jeanne d’Arc in Roubaix — the oldest Montessori school in France, founded in 1946 by Dominican nuns who trained directly with Maria Montessori herself. The school today welcomes 650 children from diverse social backgrounds.
Filming alone with a lightweight camera at children’s height, Alexandre spent over a year inside the classroom — arriving daily, integrating gradually, filming without directing. The result is an immersive, unscripted documentary in which 28 children aged 3 to 6 become the true storytellers of their own experience.
“Some children truly embody the benefits of the method — through their independence, their enthusiasm, their sense of relationship with others. They genuinely guided the film.” — Alexandre Mourot
The French actress Anny Duperey lends her voice to Maria Montessori, reading directly from her published works and lectures — bringing the pedagogue’s own words into the film without dramatisation.
International Recognition
Released in French theatres in September 2017, the film attracted over 70,000 spectators in France alone. It subsequently reached audiences in Germany and Austria (50,000+ spectators), Italy (20,000+ spectators in theatres), Romania, the USA, Canada, Spain, and many other countries.
The film is now available in 15 languages — English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Norwegian, Greek, Bulgarian, Czech, Romanian, Arabic, Thai, and Russian — with Slovenian and Khmer versions currently in production.
It has been endorsed by the world’s leading Montessori organisations:
“Thank you so much for providing our movement with this powerful tool that will contribute to a better understanding of the approach worldwide.” — Lynne Lawrence, Executive Director, Association Montessori Internationale
“The film is a masterpiece in that it captures the natural characteristics of the child.” — David Khan, Executive Director, North American Montessori Teachers’ Association (NAMTA)
“A beautifully photographed documentary. By showing these little students working and playing together without adult interference, Mourot’s sublime film is revelatory about the world of children.” — Kevin Filipski, The Flip Side
“An initiative highly supported by the AMF for the profoundness and accuracy of Alexandre Mourot’s authentic approach.” — Association Montessori de France
The film was produced through a crowdfunding campaign supported by 2,255 contributors, and backed by educators Philippe Meirieu, Antonella Verdiani, Olivier Maurel, and the Association Montessori de France.
A Film for Parents, Educators and the World
“This is a film for the general public — for parents above all — because everyone has something to gain from discovering even the core concepts of Montessori pedagogy. They invite us to look at our children with more awareness, more trust, and more wonder.” — Alexandre Mourot
Alexandre continues to travel the world presenting the film to Montessori associations, schools, and parent communities. He is also the founder of Dans le sens de la vie, the production company behind the film.