If you're a fan of documentaries, but aren't familiar with the name Nicolas Philibert, this is the perfect collection to get acquainted with some of his finest films.

Frenchman Philibert has been making documentaries since 1978. Most of his work adopts the style of capturing something remarkable in everyday life. This box set is the perfect showcase for this intelligent documentarian that features Étre et Avoir, La Ville Louvre, Back to Normandy and his most recent film Nénette.

Possibly his most famous film is Étre et Avoir (To Be and to have) which follows a group of children in a small rural French town being taught by one teacher. It captures perfectly the notion of the innocence of childhood as Philibert manages to make his camera almost disappear in the classroom. It also reveals a truly touching bond between a teacher and his class. If you haven't already seen it, the set is worth it for this film alone.

La Ville Louvre is a technically similar film albeit one with a completely different subject matter. This film is about as behind-the-scenes as you can get, as Philibert lets his cameras soak up the quiet and quirky goings-on at the world famous Louvre museum. A wide range of employees are seen going about their business in an environment that often feels like it's its own city. What could have been a fairly tedious affair turns out to be both fascinating and absorbing.

I've just got an agent off the back of this. Mel Gibson wants me for his next film. Hope he doesn't want to handle me like that puppet... it'll cost them extra if he does.

With Back to Normandy, Philibert embarks on quite an odd journey that resonates on a personal level. In 1976 French director René Allio made a film about Pierre Rivière; a young man who killed his mother, brother and sister in Normandy during the nineteenth century. Allio decided that he would not only film in the same location these murders took place, but use locals of the area who had never acted before, to play all the parts. Philibert was part of the crew for that film, who helped out finding locations etc.

Thirty years on and Philibert returns to the same part of the world to catch up with those who took part in Allio's film. It's a reunion of sorts, as the cast of that film reminisce about their brush with filmmaking, and what their lives have been like since.

Completing the collection is Nénette. Set within the walls of Vienna zoo, Philibert's camera focuses on one of their most prized exhibits, Nénette the orang-utan. The camera stays pretty much on the elderly ape throughout, as microphones pick up conversations from all that visit her. Instead of doing an Attenborough, the film is more about the relationship between Nénette and her guests.

This is a supremely impressive body of work with Philibert displaying a true and natural flair for taking the seemingly mundane and presenting them in a whole new absorbing light. Très bien indeed.