Etre et avoir

George Lopez and the children of his class.
An uplifting documentary film which follows primary school teacher, Georges Lopez, over the course of a year in an isolated dairy-farming region in Auvergne, France. This is not your ordinary village elementary: all the children - they are aged four years to eleven - are taught together in a single classroom. Lopez demands respect and admiration from his students, helping them develop into confident, able kids who will be able to hold their own at senior school. His work is his life, and this makes all the more poignant his devastating and unexpected revelation at the end. A beautifully sensitive portrait of a unique school and, a very special teacher.
Best Documentary, European Film Awards 2002