To Be and to Have
“An observation of the humanity of young people.”
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, Georges Lopez, who shows patience and respect for the children as we follow their story through a single school year.
Your rating
Your review
Cast
14 people
Georges Lopez
Self, teacher
Johan
Self, 4 year old - Jojo
Alizé
Self, 3 year old
Guillaume
Self, 9 year old
Létitia
Self, 4 year old
Johann
Self, 4 year old
Jonathan
Self, 10 year old
Olivier
Self, 10 year old
Laura
Self, 7 year old
Marie-Elizabeth
Self, 4 year old
Julien
Self, 10 year old
Nathalie
Self, 11 year old
Nicolas Philibert Director · Philippe Hersant Composer Katell Djian Cinematographer
Worldwide gross $16M · Budget $1M · United States release September 5, 2003
Box office
Budget
$1,000,000
Worldwide gross
$16,100,000
Gross vs. budget
16.1×
Production
Gimages 204
Production
Les Films d'Ici
Production
ARTE France Cinéma
Production
Maïa Films
Production
France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Être et avoir
Original language
French
Spoken on screen
French
Release dates
France · May 19, 2002
Premiere · Cannes Film Festival
France · August 28, 2002
Theatrical
United States · September 5, 2003
Limited theatrical
United States
January 10, 2003 · Premiere · Palm Springs International Film Festival
Argentina
October 30, 2003 · Theatrical
Australia
October 2, 2003 · Theatrical
Austria
December 6, 2002 · Theatrical
Belgium
September 25, 2002 · Theatrical
Bulgaria
November 4, 2005 · Premiere · Cinemania Film Festival
Canada
September 10, 2002 · Premiere · Toronto International Film Festival
Cyprus
December 4, 2002 · Premiere · Cinema Horizons Film Festival
Czechia
December 8, 2002 · Premiere · French Film Festival
Denmark
November 14, 2003 · Premiere · CPH:DO
February 6, 2004 · Theatrical
Egypt
September 20, 2004 · Premiere · European Film Festival
Finland
January 13, 2004 · Premiere · DocPoint Film Festival
January 23, 2004 · Theatrical
France
March 5, 2003 · Physical · DVD
October 18, 2025 · TV · T18
Germany
January 16, 2003 · Theatrical
Greece
March 1, 2003 · Premiere · Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
April 25, 2003 · Theatrical
Hungary
March 18, 2004 · Theatrical
Iceland
January 24, 2004 · Premiere · French Film Festival
Ireland
June 20, 2003 · Theatrical
Israel
November 20, 2003 · Theatrical
Italy
December 6, 2002 · Premiere · Sottodiciotto Film Festival
February 7, 2003 · Theatrical
Japan
June 19, 2003 · Premiere · French Film Festival
September 20, 2003 · Theatrical
Mexico
September 26, 2003 · Premiere · Tour de cine francés en méxico
May 14, 2004 · Theatrical
Netherlands
January 24, 2003 · Premiere · International Film Festival Rotterdam
March 27, 2003 · Theatrical
March 13, 2005 · TV · Nederland 3
February 18, 2010 · Physical · DVD
August 21, 2025 · Theatrical · re-release
Norway
January 16, 2004 · Premiere · Tromsø International Film Festival
Poland
April 16, 2004 · Theatrical
Portugal
January 22, 2004 · Theatrical
Spain
January 2, 2004 · Theatrical
Sweden
September 26, 2003 · Theatrical
Switzerland
September 11, 2002 · Theatrical · French
March 13, 2003 · Theatrical · German
Syria
March 25, 2005 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
June 20, 2003 · Theatrical
More from Nicolas Philibert
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked To Be and to Have
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.