Director Nicolas Philibert, special guest at TIFF

Nicholas Philibert (63) is one of the most respected and loved documentary filmmakers ever, his films been watched by over 4 million people from all over the world. A Philosophy graduate, he started working in cinema when he was only 19, and co-directed his first film (with Gérard Mordillat), La Voix de son maître (1978), when he was 27. In 2009, the prestigious Pompidou Centre organized a generous retrospective and, two years later, the Cannes Film Festival programmed a special screening of Retour en Normandie.

During TIFF and in the director's presence, the filmgoers will be able to see three of his over 20 documentaries. Être et avoir (2002), shot during one whole year n a French mountain village and starring the teacher of the only class there, his pupils and their parents, made him famous. Touching and revealing, the film was screened in Cannes, out of competition, and in tens of others festivals, was nominated for three Césars (winning the best Editing award) and registered 1.8 million entries in French cinemas alone. Another successful documentary is Nénette (2010), the story of an orangutan female from a Paris zoo, who turned the venerable age of 40. La maison de la radio (2013), his most recent film, explores the behind-the-scenes activity of Radio France and its invisible tool, sound.