In the 2002 French success film Être & Avoir, director Nicolas Philibert follows charismatic master Georges Lopez and his motley collection of pupils - from pre-schoolers to the final year of primary school - all in one class for 10 weeks.

From learning to read to maths, with calm and patience, Lopez instils confidence in his students and prepares them for life outside the school walls. The award-winning education documentary Être & Avoir evoked a nostalgic longing from a large audience for the simplicity of life as it still existed in the French countryside. In France, the film attracted nearly two million viewers and over a million more worldwide. In the Netherlands, too, interest was high and people queued up: some cinemas even screened the film for two years.

Être & Avoir won several prestigious awards at the time, including the European Film Award for Best Documentary. This heartwarming film is now being re-released.