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Ed Pack English
Ed Pack English
EDUCATIONAL PACK
ENGLISH VERSION
SYNOPSIS
Everywhere in France, there are still single class schools where the same teacher
is in charge of all the village children throughout nursery and primary school.
These small heterogeneous groups share their everyday lives, for better and for
worse.
This film was shot in one of those schools, somewhere in the heart of Auvergn
CREDITS
Auvergne is famous for its volcanoes (the last erruption took place 5 800 years
ago!) : the Puys range.
Climate : In the mountains, the seasonal changes are very marked ; long cold
winters followed by short summers (grass season). This is one of the coldest
regions in France.
Population: Auvergne is sparsely populated : 51 inhabitants per km², which
represents only half the national average.
Agriculture: An important Auvergne tradition. Big farms have from 50 to 100 cows.
The local species (Salers) are being gradually replaced by the charolaises which
produce better quality milk and meat.
Origins: The name Auvergne comes from the Gallic Arvernes tribe, which resisted
the Roman invasion for a long time.
Here are a few facts found on the site of the Education Nationale:
En premier lieu, la "crise" du monde rural a retenti sur le système éducatif. Les
transformations économiques qui ont affecté et affectent encore les campagnes - le
monde rural n'est plus un monde agricole (…) Ces transformations affectent
l'école, la désertification entraînant des fermetures de classes et d'écoles (ou
l'existence de très petits collèges), à l'inverse, les fermetures peuvent accélérer la
dévitalisation de certaines zones rurales. La scolarisation en milieu rural ne
constitue donc pas seulement un enjeu éducatif, elle est également devenue un
enjeu pour l'aménagement du territoire. A ce titre, elle intéresse évidemment
l'Etat, mais aussi les collectivités territoriales.
Enfin, dans le débat général autour de l'école a émergé le souci d'efficacité qui peut
se traduire pour l'école rurale par la question suivante : les petits établissements
ruraux sont-ils de la même "qualité" que ceux des villes, offrent-ils à leurs
élèves les mêmes chances de réussite? La question de la scolarisation en milieu
rural est présentée ainsi parfois sous forme d'une alternative : faut-il maintenir
un service public de proximité en zone rurale pour assurer la survie et
même redynamiser les campagnes ou bien faut-il abandonner des petites
structures scolaires pour assurer la qualité de l'enseignement? »
Le système éducatif en milieu rural (rédacteur en chef : Françoise OEuvrard)
http://www.education.gouv.fr/dpd/texweb/ef43dev.html
DISCUSSION / DÉBAT
DOCUMENTAIRE
Le film a été réalisé en dix semaines, le tournage s’étalant de décembre à juin
2001. Au final, plus de 60 heures de pellicule parmi lesquelles il a fallu opérer une
sélection sévère pour obtenir les 105 minutes du film.
DISCUTEZ
À votre avis, qu’est-ce qui aurait été différent si le film avait été
une fiction ?
"Un documentariste est simplement quelqu’un qui filme ce qu’il voit" Dominique
Dubosc
Qu’en pensez-vous ? Lequel des deux vous semble être le plus proche de la vérité ?
DOSSIER DE PRESSE
Être et Avoir a été présenté au festival de Cannes 2002, hors compétition. La même
année, le documentaire Bowling for Columbine de l’Américain Michael Moore était
sélectionné pour la compétition officielle. Les journaux ont souvent rapproché ces
deux films. Ainsi le journaliste Claude Martino concluait son articles sur ces mots :
"Et s’il fallait rassurer le monde, disons le tout net : grâce à des profs comme ça, et
malgré le peu de moyens dont disposent les enseignants dans les classes uniques,
on préfère de loin voir des minots armés pour la vie comme ils le sont ici plutôt
qu’armés comme ils le sont aux Etats-Unis."
Qu’en pensez-vous ?
Discutez
« The state of the school network in rural areas and its dispersal are linked to the
institution's history as well as to that of educational policies. By giving children
and young people access to primary education (at the beginning of the century)
and then to secondary school (in the early sixties), it is an answer to
preoccupations about equal opportunities.
In the first place, the rural « crisis » has affected the educational system.
Economic transformations have affected and still affect the countryside – the
rural world is no longer an agricultural world (...) These transformations affect
schools, as they bring about class or school closures, or the existence of very
small schools. This is a two way process, as schools closing down can bring about
people leaving rural areas. Therefore education in rural areas has become more
than an educational challenge ; it is the national and regional development
which is at stake. This is why not only the State is obviously interested in the
issue, but also the territorial authorities.
Finally, amidst the general debate about schools, has emerged the preoccupation
with effectiveness which as far as country schools is concerned, can be formulated
in the following terms : is the quality of teaching in small rural schools as
high as in towns, and do these schools offer the same opportunities for
success? Indeed the question of schooling in rural areas is sometimes presented
as an alternative :should the public service in rural areas be maintained so
as to insure the survival of those areas, or should small school structures
be scraped to concentrate on the quality of the teaching? »
The educational system in rural areas (editor : Françoise Oeuvrard)
http : // www.education.gouv.fr/dpd/texweb/ef43dev.html
DISCUSSION/DEBATE
Documentary
The film took ten weeks to shoot, from December to June 2001.
The result was more than 60 hours worth film out of which 105 minutes had to be
selected.
DISCUSS
According to you, what would have been different if the film had been a fiction?
To which Nicolas Philibert, the director of the film, answers : « Documentaries are
often considered to be the depiction of reality just as it is ..... however that is to
forget the fact that a scene is filmed in a specific environment, the camera is
placed at a certain height and is static or mobile. If several of us witness the same
event, we know noone will report it in the same way. To tell a story is to
automatically develop a personal and subjective point of view. »
What do you think? Which of the two statements seems to you closer to the truth?
Press review
Etre et Avoir was presented at the Cannes Festival, outside the official
competition.The same year, Bowling for Columbine by the American
Michael Moore was selected as part of the official competition.
Newspapers have often compared both films ; journalist Claude Martino
concluded his article in the following terms :
Discuss.
By the end of August, one million spectators had seen Être et Avoir, 1557
906 have seen it since, and the film is still showing!
Discuss.
Do you like French films? Are many French films screened in your city?
Find two adjectives, one positive, one negative, that according to you
describe French cinema well. Compare.
Two addresses to find out more about the director and the film :
http : //www.filmsdulosange.fr/fr a laffiche fiche%20etre.php
http : //chipsquaw.free.fr/etreetavoir/index_2.html