9th Annual Film Screening: Monsiuer Lazhar

Monsieur Lazhar

Dir. Philippe Falardeau

Narrative Feature | Canada
| 2011 | 94 min.

In French, English, and
Arabic, with English subtitles

Nominated for this year’s Best Foreign Language Film
Oscar, this masterful classroom drama tells the story of a Montreal middle
school class shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher. Bachir Lazhar
(Mohamed Saïd Fellag), A 55-year-old Algerian immigrant who is hired as the
substitute, helps the children heal while he learns to accept his own painful
past. This profoundly affecting film has garnered many awards for its
performances by Algerian star Fellag and the stunning ensemble of child actors.

“Monsieur Lazhar sustains an exquisite balance between grown-up and child’s-eye views
of education, teacher-student relations, and peer-group interactions. ...Like
no other film about middle school life that I can recall Monsieur Lazhar
conveys the intensity and the
fragility of these classroom bonds and the mutual trust they require.”

– Stephen Holden, The New
York Times

WINNER

6 GENIE AWARDS

(CANADIAN OSCARS)

2012