Nicolas Philibert Retrospective

To Be and To Have

Nicolas Philibert
Screening time  
03.03. / Četvrtak, 17:00 - 19:00 Dvorana 1  
Beautifully shot in and around a one-room schoolhouse in the Auvergne region of France, ‘To Be and To Have’ captures poignant moments in the lives of a dedicated teacher and his students, while demonstrating the power of following one’s passion.

With 13 students to teach, George Lopez spends time encouraging the quiet and reserved Nathalie to come out of her shell, coaching the young Jojo with his letters and numbers and fearlessly sliding down the snowy hills of the countryside with an enthusiasm paralleled only by the students who slide down with him. Not only does this film reveal that teaching is a ‘calling’, but it also portrays a unique learning environment and an inspired method of education.

Nicolas Philibert

Nicolas Philibert was born in 1951 in Nancy (France). After studying philosophy, he turned to film and became an assistant director, notably for René Allio, Alain Tanner and Claude Goretta. In 1978, with Gérard Mordillat, he co-directed his first documentary feature, His Master’s Voice (La voix de son maître) in which a dozen bosses of leading industrial groups talk about control, hierarchy and power, gradually sketching out the image of a future world ruled by the financial sector…From 1985 to 1987, Nicolas Philibert shot various mountaineering and sports adventure films for television (Christophe, Trilogy for One Man, Go For It, Lapébie!, Baquet’s Come Back) then started directing documentary features that would all obtain a theatrical release: Louvre City (La ville Louvre, 1990), In the Land of the Deaf (Le pays des sourds, 1992), Animals (Un animal, des animaux, 1995), Every Little Thing (La Moindre des choses, 1996), at the La Borde psychiatric clinic, as well as a film essay pitched between documentary and fiction, with the students of the school of the Strasbourg National Theatre: Who Knows? (Qui sait ?, 1998). In 2001, he directed To Be and to Have (Etre et avoir), about daily life in a «single class» school in a mountain village in the heart of the Massif Central (France). Screened as part of the Official Selection at the 2002 Cannes Festival, Prix Louis Delluc 2002, the film was a huge success in France and around forty other countries. In his recent film, Back to Normandy (Retour en Normandie, 2007), he returned to the settings of I, Pierre Rivère, Having Slaughtered My Mother, My Sister and My Brother… by René Allio, the director who allowed him to take his first steps in film.

General sponsor

Être et avoir

France
2002, 104', color, video

Directed by:
Nicolas Philibert

Cinematography:
Laurent Didier, Katell Djian, Hugues Gemignani, Nicolas Philibert

Edited by:
Nicolas Philibert

Music:
Philippe Hersant

Producer:
Serge Lalou

Produced by:
BBC, Canal+, Fondation de France, La Sept-cinéma, Les Films d’Ici, RAI Tre, Télévision Suisse Romande

Festivals & Awards:

César Awards 2003 - Best Editing

European Film Awards 2002 - Best Documentary Award

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2003 - Jury Award

Étoiles d'Or 2003 - Best Film

National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA 2004 - NSFC Award Best Documentary

Prix Louis Delluc 2002 French Syndicate of Cinema Critics 2003 - Best film

Valladolid International Film Festival 2002 - Best Documentary