Être et avoir
Encyclopedia
To Be and To Have is a 2002 French
documentary film
directed by Nicolas Philibert about a small rural school. It was nominated as an "Out of Competition" film at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival
and achieved commercial success. 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 verb
s 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, Georges 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.
2 million profit. One of his main claims was that the film-makers had exploited his image without authorisation. French film unions warned that if Lopez had been successful it would have spelt "the death of the documentary, undermining the crucial principle that subjects should not be paid to participate".
Speaking after the court case, Lopez said that he, the children and their families had been misled by the film's production company about the purpose and intended audience of the film:
The court ruled that Lopez's attendance at the Cannes film festival, which he attended with some of the students,and his repeated public expressions of satisfaction at its success, constituted his tacit acceptance of the use of his image.
The French media had been critical of Lopez, with one newspaper carrying the headline: "To be and to have: the teacher would rather have." However Lopez said money was never his motivation: "I'm simply trying to make the film company recognise my rights." Lopez was supported in his action by the families of most of his former pupils, some of whom stated that they themselves would also sue the film company.
Lopez said the unexpected attention the film had brought the young students had traumatised some of them:
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Nicolas Philibert about a small rural school. It was nominated as an "Out of Competition" film at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival
2002 Cannes Film Festival
The 2002 Cannes Film Festival started on 15 May and ran until 26 May. The Palme d'Or went to the Polish-French-German-British co-produced film The Pianist directed by Roman Polanski.-Jury:* David Lynch * Sharon Stone* Michelle Yeoh...
and achieved commercial success. 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 verb
Auxiliary verb
In linguistics, an auxiliary verb is a verb that gives further semantic or syntactic information about a main or full verb. In English, the extra meaning provided by an auxiliary verb alters the basic meaning of the main verb to make it have one or more of the following functions: passive voice,...
s in the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. It is about a primary school in the commune of Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson
Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson
Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.It is the setting for the 2002 documentary film To Be and to Have , about the commune's one-room primary school.-References:*...
, Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme is a department in the centre of France named after the famous dormant volcano, the Puy-de-Dôme.Inhabitants were called Puydedomois until December 2005...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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, Georges 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
Sacramento French Film Festival
The Sacramento French Film Festival is an annual event held in July at the Crest Theatre. It celebrates the present as well as the rich history of French cinema featuring new releases and rarely seen classics. It is the only festival dedicated to French cinema in Northern California and one of only...
Audience Prize.
Lawsuit
Following the film's popularity in cinemas, Lopez, the principal personality in the documentary, made an unsuccessful attempt to sue the documentary's makers for a share of the €Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
2 million profit. One of his main claims was that the film-makers had exploited his image without authorisation. French film unions warned that if Lopez had been successful it would have spelt "the death of the documentary, undermining the crucial principle that subjects should not be paid to participate".
Speaking after the court case, Lopez said that he, the children and their families had been misled by the film's production company about the purpose and intended audience of the film:
"We were misled. The production company told me and the children's families that they were making a small documentary about the phenomenon of the one-teacher village school and that the film would be used primarily for educational purposes. They said it would have a restricted screening, and never discussed marketing the film to make it such a commercial venture....We had no idea that it would be in cinemas all over the country, released on DVD or distributed abroad.
The court ruled that Lopez's attendance at the Cannes film festival, which he attended with some of the students,and his repeated public expressions of satisfaction at its success, constituted his tacit acceptance of the use of his image.
The French media had been critical of Lopez, with one newspaper carrying the headline: "To be and to have: the teacher would rather have." However Lopez said money was never his motivation: "I'm simply trying to make the film company recognise my rights." Lopez was supported in his action by the families of most of his former pupils, some of whom stated that they themselves would also sue the film company.
Lopez said the unexpected attention the film had brought the young students had traumatised some of them:
"One child, who had been very stable and happy until the film's release, was so distressed by his unexpected fame, that he started wetting the bed, and became afraid of the dark...Other children have been teased at their new secondary schools because of their involvement. All have been subjected to a great deal of stress as a direct consequence of the film."