| To Be and to Have (Être et avoir) | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nicolas Philibert |
| Written by | Nicolas Philibert |
| Produced by | Gilles Sandoz |
| Cinematography | Laurent Didier Katell Djian Hugues Gemignani Nicolas Philibert |
| Edited by | Nicolas Philibert |
| Music by | Philippe Hersant |
| Distributed by | Les Films du Losange |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Budget | €1 million[1] |
| Box office | $16.1 million[1] |
To Be and To Have (French: Être et avoir; also the UK title) is a 2002 French documentary film directed by Nicolas Philibert about a small rural school. It was screened as an "Out of Competition" film at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival[2] and achieved commercial success.[3] The film became the subject of an unsuccessful legal action by the school's teacher, who said that he and the children's parents had been misled about the film's intended audience, and that he and the children had been exploited.
The documentary's title translates as "to be and to have", the two auxiliary verbs in the French language. It is about a primary school in the commune of Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson, Puy-de-Dôme, France, the population of which is just over 200. The school has one small class of mixed ages (from four to twelve years), with a dedicated teacher, Mr Lopez, who shows patience and respect for the children as we follow their story through a single school year.
The film won several awards, including the 2003 Sacramento French Film Festival Audience Prize.[4]
- ^ a b "Etre et avoir". JP's Box-Office.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: To Be and to Have". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ^ Amelia Gentleman (3 October 2004). "Film's fallen hero fights on for his class". The Guardian. London.
- ^ "Être et avoir – IMDb". IMDb.