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Celebrate National Canadian Film Day with six essential Canadian filmsCelebrate National Canadian Film Day with six essential Canadian filmsAdriana Floridia4/19/2017 11:42:00 Am

Today is National Canadian Film Day and there's no better way to celebrate than by watching Canadian movies!

Canadian films are largely underrated, but there are tons of filmmakers, both new and old, that are resurrecting the Canadian film scene. While Quebec has always had a strong presence in the film-making world, with directors like Xavier Dolan, Denis Villeneuve and Jean Marc Vallee constantly doing us proud, there's also a lot of great efforts from the English-speaking Canadian film realm, that we often forget about. Legends like David Cronenberg, Deepa Mehta and Guy Maddin have always made distinct, challenging work, and there's a new emerging scene--from the more established filmmakers like Jason Reitman and Sarah Polley, to a new crop of directors like Matt Johnson and Andrew Cividino.

Celebrate National Canadian Film Day with six essential Canadian filmsCelebrate National Canadian Film Day with six essential Canadian filmsAdriana Floridia4/19/2017 11:42:00 Am

Today is National Canadian Film Day and there's no better way to celebrate than by watching Canadian movies!

Canadian films are largely underrated, but there are tons of filmmakers, both new and old, that are resurrecting the Canadian film scene. While Quebec has always had a strong presence in the film-making world, with directors like Xavier Dolan, Denis Villeneuve and Jean Marc Vallee constantly doing us proud, there's also a lot of great efforts from the English-speaking Canadian film realm, that we often forget about. Legends like David Cronenberg, Deepa Mehta and Guy Maddin have always made distinct, challenging work, and there's a new emerging scene--from the more established filmmakers like Jason Reitman and Sarah Polley, to a new crop of directors like Matt Johnson and Andrew Cividino.

Monsieur Lazhar

Written by Philippe Falardeau (based on play by Évelyne de la Chenelière)

Directed by Philippe Falardeau

Canada, 2011

Recent years have seen a tectonic shift in how the homegrown Canadian citizens understand, perceive, interact with newcomers whose origins lie in the Middle East and Maghreb. Blame the media, blame misunderstandings, blame racism, blame frightful activities transpiring in the countries of origin of said immigrants and that has, as recently as the fall of 2014, even hit Canadian soil. New Canadians of Arab descent are, often despite themselves, given the spotlight in the news and various other forms of media for less than enviable reasons. What is it like, therefore, being a newcomer in Canada with ties to a region of the globe that has been earning the worst of reputations since September of 2001? The 2011 Academy Award nominated film from director Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar, takes a glance at the experience and so much more,...

Writer and director Philippe Falardeau’s most recent film (in many books the Best Foreign picture runner-up), Monsieur Lazhar is a surprisingly tender reconnaissance of our current educational practices while plunging headlong into the psychology of dealing with death. It seems Falardeau feels that as a society we’ve become afraid of physical contact for fear of parental backlash, whether it be a warning slap to the back of a disruptive child’s head or a consoling shoulder-bound embrace in the wake of shocking tragedy. His film challenges this ideology by placing an Algerian immigrant of traditional values at the head of a class of youthful pupils who recently endured the suicide of their former teacher while he himself grieves over the loss of his wife and daughter.

Mohamed Fellag plays Bachir Lazhar, a warm, but secretive new instructor in a small Montreal public grade school. Lazhar has taken the...

Chicago – When the Academy nominates a film before it’s even been released in America, they end up doing it a disservice. Once the film finally shows up on American screens, the Oscar nominations have already faded from memory. This method also allows the Academy to ignore all the great films that audiences have actually seen during the past twelve months.

Instead of nominating a widely praised gem like Abbas Kiarostami’s “Certified Copy,” which received a March 2011 U.S. release, for the 2011 Oscars, the Academy chose unknown pictures such as Philippe Falardeau’s “Monsieur Lazhar,” which didn’t receive a U.S. release until April 2012. But as Lou Lumenick recently reminded me via Twitter, critics can do whatever they want. Thus, I am declaring “Monsieur Lazhar” as one of the very best films of 2012, and the only one (so far) that has caused me to weep.

Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

Perhaps...

This week on DVD/Blu-ray: Canada's moving Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film; a horror flick from the guy that brought you "The Blair Witch Project"; The Who's classic rock opera; a cool and brutal Scandinavian thriller; and the latest comedy from the director of "The Big Chill." #1. "Monsieur Lazhar" For better or worse, the teacher/classroom genre is a Hollywood staple. From "Dangerous Minds" and "Freedom Writers" to "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "Dead Poets Society," these films tend to follow a standard plot formula (and often reap considerable box office and Oscar nominations anyway). Quebecois import "Monsieur Lazhar" -- fresh off an Academy Award nomination for foreign language film -- manages to transcend the genre with a moving, realistic take on student-teacher relations. Directed by Philippe Falardeau, the film follows Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), an Algerian...

Briefly described, Monsieur Lazhar sounds like a highly contrived movie. An asylum-seeking Algerian restaurateur, whose wife and family have been killed by terrorists, passes himself off as a teacher to help the staff and pupils of a francophone school in Montreal come to terms with the suicide of a troubled female teacher. In fact it is a serious, unsentimental film of real insight into loss, grief, guilt, exile and the true meaning of education. Fellag, a prominent Algerian actor now working in exile in France, imbues the compassionate, indomitably cheerful Bachir Lazhar with a deep humanity. Equally the French-Canadian director elicits excellent performances from the children.

Lazhar is a man of tact, probity and a rich sense of humour. His understanding of his mixed class of 11-year-olds and their problems is palpable, but there is no immediate or magical transformation, and the mutual healing process is gradual. The end sends...

American Pie: Reunion (15)

(Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, 2012, Us) Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Alyson Hannigan. 113 mins

It's rare to see teen-movie characters all grown up, and this illustrates the reason why: they just make us feel old. The gang's all here, reverting to their old non-pc habits even as they mourn their lost youth. It's patchy and often dodgy comedy, but there's still something heartening about Stifler's defiant idiocy and Jim's dad's middle-age second chance.

Safe (15)

(Boaz Yakin, 2012, Us) Jason Statham, Catherine Chan. 94 mins

Triads, Russian mobsters, cops and everyone else in New York falls foul of Statham in another ludicrous but fast-moving actioner.

Two Years At Sea (U)

(Ben Rivers, 2012, UK) Jake Williams. 90 mins

Extraordinary, otherworldly observation of a modern-day Scottish hermit.

Goodbye First Love (15)

(Mia Hansen-Løve, 2011, Fra/Ger) Lola Créton, Sebastian Urzendowsky. 111 mins

Heartfelt study of a young teen's formative romantic fortunes.

The Lucky One (12A)

(Scott Hicks,...

Mohamed Fellag is glorious as an Algerian refugee turned primary-school teacher

Only the most obstreperous delinquent could fail to be charmed by Monsieur Lazhar, in which an Algerian refugee plays ramshackle Mary Poppins to the kids at a Montreal primary. This sweet, soulful drama plays out to the scrape of desks and the echo of voices, and showcases a glorious performance from Mohamed Fellag as the substitute teacher who is not quite what he claims. Lazhar gatecrashes the school in the wake of a tragedy. He flounders, he flourishes and is eventually found out. There is just time to deliver one final, moving life lesson before the bell sounds, and the past rolls in to claim him.

Rating: 4/5

World cinemaDramaXan Brooks

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Given its stellar competition at this year's Oscars, it's not surprising that Monsieur Lazhar did not take home the award for Best Foreign Language Film. But this quiet, deeply affecting Canadian import is no less deserving of the honor than the winner, Iran's A Separation. Set during a dreary Montreal winter that reflects the movie's tone in so many ways, Monsieur Lazhar is an astute commentary on the art of teaching, an exploration of the cyclical nature of life and a powerful meditation on loss and grief.

The film opens at the start of a typical elementary school day that delivers a shock to everyone: A teacher has hanged herself in a classroom, and two of her students, Alice (Sophie Nélisse) and Simon (Émilien Néron) are deeply disturbed after finding the body. The horrific event casts a pall over the school and leaves the stunned but stoic principal, Mme. Vaillancourt...

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This year’s Oscar-nominated Monsieur Lazhar is a film that some of our own politicians, teachers and school administrators could definitely benefit from seeing. That it is Canadian and spoken mostly in French does little to stifle a relevance sure to span education systems far and wide.

A teacher’s suicide at a Montreal elementary school is the film’s opening statement, providing writer-director Philippe Falardeau with the necessary berth to discuss a wide array of subjects, from death, to war, parenting and education to name but a few. As we observe how this shocking act affects a class of children, the school’s staff, and especially their new teacher Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Said Fellag), Falardeau’s film most prominently notes the pervasive nature of death, how it hovers like a spectre. It is a force which can render even the most sensible of us entirely irrational,...

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Chicago – “Monsieur Lazhar,” an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film that is now opening at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, deftly handles delicate themes in a way that saves them from the cliché they so often become in the cogs of the Hollywood machine. The set-up sounds like a ‘90s Robin Williams movie as a teacher helps an elementary class deal with tragic loss but this remarkably human, touching, brilliant film never succumbs to melodrama, finding something truthful in the complex relationship between adults and children forced to grow up too soon.

The title character is an Algerian immigrant who comes to a Quebec school after a teacher kills herself during recess. Two of the students, including one who had a tumultuous relationship with the teacher, see the body, but the ripple effect spreads far beyond just the pair. It’s a job no one wants but...

Film: Monsieur Lazhar (2011) Cast includes: Mohamed Fellag (L'ennemi intime), Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx (C.R.A.Z.Y.), Brigitte Poupart (Congorama) Writer/Director: Philippe Falardeau (It's Not Me, I Swear!) Genre: Drama | Humor (94 minutes) French with subtitles The colors of Montreal's winter are "white, gray and dog piss yellow." In the snow-covered schoolyard, Alice reminds Simon, "Your turn for the milk." Simon goes ahead of the others, gets the milk and brings it around... but the classroom door is locked. Through the window, he sees the partially concealed body of Martine, their teacher. She's hanged herself from a pipe. In the moments before the other teachers have frantically herded the 6th graders back outside, Alice gets a glimpse, too. It'll be a long time before they get past the nightmares. The classroom is painted a different color. They bring in a psychologist to work with the kids. And Madame Vaillancourt is trying...

One of the most touching films of the year. A brilliant tragedy that transcends boundaries of age, country, race, religion and gender. Filmmaker Philippe Falardeau scored big with his emerging works .It's Not Me, I Swear!. and .Left Hand Side of the Fridge.. Nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the 2012 Oscars, Monsieur Lazhar is an adaptation of Évelyne de la Chenelière's stage play, and is produced by Luc Déry and Kim McCraw, the team responsible for the Oscar-nominated .Incendies.. Falardeau.s current film, .Monsieur Lazhar. features Mohamed Fellag playing Bachir Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant who has falsified his credentials to get a job, any job, in Canada. Fellag was born and raised in Algeria, moving to Paris during...

Title: Monsieur Lazhar Director: Philippe Falardeau Starring: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nelisse, Emilien Neron, Brigitte Poupart, Danielle Proulx A Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee from (French) Canada, “Monsieur Lazhar” is a psychologically perceptive, humanistic tale of adolescent grief, wayward adult yearning, and how emotional healing can often arrive from the most unexpected sources. Anchored by an award-winning lead performance, the understated movie develops slowly, like a Polaroid, into something greater than the sum of seemingly simple parts. After a grade school Montreal teacher shockingly commits suicide, Algerian immigrant Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag) shows up at the office of the beleagured principal (Danielle Proulx) and pitches himself as a replacement, with almost [ Read More ]...

We know that Vulture readers pride themselves on seeing a whole lot of the Oscar nominees every year, but there's one of the 2011 honorees you probably couldn't have caught until now: the acclaimed Canadian film Monsieur Lazhar, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and is opening in the U.S. this weekend. Mohamed Fellag stars as Algerian immigrant Bachir Lazhar, who manages to talk his way into replacing a middle school teacher who's committed suicide. The students are still recovering from the shock of their teacher's death, and slowly, Lazhar draws them in, but he's got his own secrets, as well as his own agenda for pursuing the job. In this exclusive clip, you'll get a hint of one of them: Lazhar conducts the class in French to cover for the fact that he doesn't speak English, but when he brings in an English instructor, his students try...

For better or worse, the teacher/classroom genre is a Hollywood staple. From "Dangerous Minds" and "Freedom Writers" to "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "Dead Poets Society," these films follow a pretty standard plot formula time and time again (and often reap considerable box office and Oscar nominations anyway). But this weekend, Quebecois import "Monsieur Lazhar" -- fresh off an Oscar nomination -- transcends the genre with a moving, realistic take on student-teacher relations. Directed by Philippe Falardeau, the film follows Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), an Algerian immigrant who is hired to replace a teacher at a Montreal elementary school who kills herself. Honest and sincere in a manner rare to its Hollywood counterparts, "Lazhar" is a powerful little film that effectively takes on a multitude of issues permeating today's society.  In honor of "Lazhar," Indiewire thought we'd offer 8...

When "A Separation" won the Academy Award for best foreign language film last month, I was thrilled -- Asghar Farhadi's splendid domestic drama is one of the best things I've seen in the past few years. But it also came as a genuine surprise, because I was convinced the Canadian film "Monsieur Lazhar" was going to win. Gentle and understated, Philippe Falardeau's film is a classy crowd-pleaser, the kind of mild effort that makes people shake their heads imagining what awfulness would be done to it in an American remake. It is also nothing to write home about, though it features a strong turn from Mohamed Saïd Fellag, who plays the title character, and some very good child performances.

"Monsieur Lazhar" is adapted from a play by Évelyne de la Chenelière about an Algerian immigrant, Bachir Lazhar, who's hurriedly hired at an elementary school to take the place of Martine,...

ComingSoon.net has received an exclusive clip from Monsieur Lazhar , writer/director Philippe Falardeau's dramedy opening in theaters this Friday, April 13. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Monsieur Lazhar tells the poignant story of a Montreal middle school class shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher and trying to heal. Bachir Lazhar (Fellag), a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant, offers the school his services as a substitute teacher and is quickly hired. As he helps the children heal, he also learns to accept his own painful past. This moving film features exquisite performances by Fellag and a stunning ensemble of child actors. Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx and Brigitte Poupart star.

Monthly Movie Preview – April 2012

Can you smell that? It’s the scent of “Almost Summer.” No, that’s not the name of a cheap fragrant candle, but the aroma multiplexes let waft when it’s almost the main season for blockbusters. But before we focus on mega movies like The Avengers in May, and The Dark Knight Rises in July, April has some unique choices for us, most of which are not based off comic books, or feature gluttonous budgets.

April is going to be an intimate month with a slew of romantic movies, some more comedic than others – American Reunion, The Lucky One, Think Like A Man, The Five-Year Engagement, and even the indie Darling Companion. Even the horror genre is going to see some unique spins, with movies like The Cabin in the Woods, Detention, and The Raven.

And of course, before we head off into the land of summer blockbusters,...

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably.

—

There’s a good mix of work coming out in April and the posters do well to mirror such. I’m not quite sure how Rodrigo Cortés‘ could have his first film Buried possess one of the best poster series of 2010 and then return to big screens with the lackluster Vodka Creative sheet for Atm, but not everything can be perfect.

I can’t complain too much, however, since the month does bring some quality pieces of marketing material. And while Jack Black‘s creepy pedo-stash and Cardinal...

When "A Separation" won the Academy Award for best foreign language film last month, I was thrilled -- Asghar Farhadi's splendid domestic drama is one of the best things I've seen in the past few years. But it also came as a genuine surprise, because I was convinced the Canadian film "Monsieur Lazhar" was going to win. Gentle and understated, Philippe Falardeau's film is a classy crowd-pleaser, the kind of mild effort that makes people shake their heads imagining what awfulness would be done to it in an American remake. It is also nothing to write home about, though it features a strong turn from Mohamed Saïd Fellag, who plays the title character, and some very good child performances.

"Monsieur Lazhar" is adapted from a play by Évelyne de la Chenelière about an Algerian immigrant, Bachir Lazhar, who's hurriedly hired at an elementary school to take the place of Martine,...

(via alan of montreal) Best Picture Monsieur Lazhar, Luc Déry, Kim McCraw, producers Best Director Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar Best Actress Vanessa Paradis, Café de Flore Best Actor Fellag, Monsieur...

Fellag, Monsieur Lazhar Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar, the tale of an Algerian immigrant and middle-school teacher who changes the lives of several of his students, won a total of six Genie Awards — the Canadian Oscars — including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Fellag), Best Supporting Actress (Sophie Nélisse), and Best Adapted Screenplay (also Falardeau, from Evelyne de la Chenelière's play). [Full list of Genie Award winners.] Ten days ago, Monsieur Lazhar lost the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award to Asghar Farhadi's Iranian drama A Separation. The film's producers, Luc Déry and Kim McCraw, were also behind Denis Villeneuve's Incendies, last year's Genie winner and another Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee. (Seven of the last ten Best Picture Genie Award winners were at least in part French-language Quebec-made productions.) After winning Best Director, Falardeau made the sort of declaration that drives libertarians and their right-wing fellow travelers up the wall. By the way,...

The 32nd Annual Genie Awards -- the Canadian equivalent of the Oscars -- were announced tonight in Toronto, with Philippe Falardeau's foreign language language Oscar nominee "Monsieur Lazhar" taking six awards including best picture, best director and best actor. Other major winners included David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," which won 5 awards including a best supporting actor trophy for Viggo Mortensen. Full list of winners below: Best Motion Picture Monsieur Lazhar - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw Achievement In Direction Philippe Falardeau - Monsieur Lazhar Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role Mohamed Fellag - Monsieur Lazhar   Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role Viggo Mortensen - A Dangerous Method   Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role Vanessa Paradis - Café de Flore   Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role Sophie NÉLISSE...

Kaelen Meuiner, Garret Dillahunt, Oliver Sherman Monsieur Lazhar, Philippe Falardeau: Genie Award Winners INTERPRÉTATION Masculine Dans Un Premier RÔLE / Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role * Fellag – Monsieur Lazhar Garret Dillahunt – Oliver Sherman Michael Fassbender – A Dangerous Method Patrick Huard – Starbuck Scott Speedman – Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE Dans Un Premier RÔLE / Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role Catherine De LÉAN – Nuit #1 Pascale Montpetit – The Girl in the White Coat * Vanessa Paradis – Café de Flore Rachel Weisz – The Whistleblower Michelle Williams – Take This Waltz INTERPRÉTATION Masculine Dans Un RÔLE De Soutien / Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role Antoine Bertrand – Starbuck Kevin Durand – Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster Marin Gerrier – Café de Flore Taylor Kitsch – The Bang Bang Club * Viggo Mortensen – A Dangerous Method INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE Dans Un RÔLE De Soutien / Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role Roxana Condurache – The Whistleblower...

While Sundance still gets the headlines, the last few years have seen the film strand of South By Southwest, the Austin, Texas cultural conference, become just as vital to the movie world as Robert Redford's baby. The past few festivals alone witnessed some of the best movies of their respective years debut, from low-budget indies like "The Puffy Chair," "Beeswax," "Tiny Furniture" and "Cold Weather" to more mainstream fare like "I Love You Man," "Adventureland" and "Bridesmaids," to international genre hits like "Kill List," "Attack The Block" and "Monsters."

It's certainly one of the highlights of our cinematic calendar, and there's no reason to think that the 2012 installment, which kicks off on Friday with the world premiere of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's eagerly anticipated horror-comedy "The Cabin In The Woods," will disappoint. From looking through the program, we could be here all day talking about the films that are piquing our interest,...

In less than a month the SXSW Film Festival will kick off (Friday, March 9, to be exact), and the line-up keeps getting better and better. The festival has announced some exciting additions to their already-stellar line-up including the Sundance hits Safety Not Guaranteed, Searching for Sugar Man, Chasing Ice, Shut Up and Play the Hits, Sleepwalk with Me along with the world premiere of Steve Taylor‘s Blue Like Jazz, and Todd Rohal‘s Nature Calls. They have also added the Oscar nominated Montreal film Monsieur Lazhar which we have championed since its World Premiere at Tiff.

You can find the lineup of today’s film announcements below, and check the entire schedule, complete with both screening and conference dates and times, at www.sxsw.com/film.

Narrative Spotlight

Blue Like Jazz

Director: Steve Taylor, Screenwriters: Donald Miller, Steve Taylor, Ben Pearson

A Texas college student flees the hypocrisy of...

After a few announcements, the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival has firmed up their schedule, adding a number of notable films including a few we saw at Sundance. Among them include the LCD Soundsystem documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits (review here), Mike Birbiglia‘s Sleepwalk With Me (review here) and Safety Not Guaranteed (review here) starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass. Also jumping out as one of my most-anticipated is Todd Rohal‘s The Catechism Cataclysm follow-up Nature Calls, with Patton Oswalt, Johnny Knoxville and Rob Riggle. Check them all out below for the festival kicking off March 9th.

Narrative Spotlight

Blue Like Jazz

Director: Steve Taylor, Screenwriters: Donald Miller, Steve Taylor, Ben Pearson

A Texas college student flees the hypocrisy of his religious upbringing for life in the Pacific Northwest at ‘the most godless campus in America.’ Based on the New York Times bestseller by Donald Miller.

Monsieur Lazhar

Directed by: Philippe Falardeau

Cast: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse

Running Time: 1 hr 35 min

Rating: PG-13

Showtimes at Piff: Saturday 2/11 3:00 at Lake Twin Cinema, Monday 2/13 6:15 at Lloyd Mall 6 and Wednesday 2/15 8:45 at Pioneer Place 5 Complete Piff Schedule

Plot: After a elementary school teacher hangs herself in her classroom, a refugee from Algeria suffering his own loss takes over the classroom.

Who’S It For? Adults and older children. The subject matter is dark but mature kids will probably still enjoy it.

Overall

Canada’s nominee for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, Monsieur Lazhar takes place in Montreal and starts with an arresting opening scene. A child brings a crate of milk cartons to his classroom. He stops when he sees his teacher hanging from the rafters. The film most closely follows this boy, Simon, and his friend, Alice (Nélisse) who also saw the teacher before staff could intervene.

Although A Separation will clearly take the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film, there are a number of worthwhile contenders in the category. One of them is Canada’s entry Monsieur Lazhar, from director Philippe Falardeau. The drama follows a new schoolteacher dealing with his class, who are coping with the suicide of their last instructor.

We have a new trailer today via Apple, and it reminds me a bit of excellent 2008 film The Class, also nominated in the same category. Lazhar also made our list of films to check out at Sundance and you can see the new look below, before it arrives in limited theaters this spring.

Synopsis:

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Monsieur Lazhar tells the poignant story of a Montreal middle school class shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher and trying to heal. Bachir Lazhar (Fellag), a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant,...

The Canadian French-language feature "Monsieur Lazhar', nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category @ the upcoming 84th Academy Awards, is the 2011 drama directed by Philippe Falardeau, adapting a one-character play by Évelyne de la Chenelière :

"...in Montreal, after an elementary school teacher kills herself, 'Bachir Lazhar', an Algerian immigrant, is quickly hired to replace her while still grieving over the loss of his activist writer wife, who was killed in an arson attack.

"Despite a cultural gap, Lazhar quickly gets to know his students after the first lesson. As the class tries to move on from their former teacher's suicide, nobody at the school is aware of Bachir's painful past and the fact he could be deported at any time given his status as a refugee..."

Cast includes Mohamed Saïd Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart, Jules Philip, Daniel Gadouas, Louis Champagne, Seddik Benslimane, Marie-Ève Beauregard and André Robitaille.

I'm not sure it can be overstated just how badly Monsieur Lazhar, directed by Philippe Falardeau, could have failed in the wrong hands. The story of a North African immigrant (Mohamed Fellag) who comes to a Montreal school to teach after the former instructor kills herself during recess, nine times out of ten the film would have been either a complete maudlin mess or a sanctimonious, manipulative, cowardly piece. In other words, in these days of drivel such as The Help and The Blind Side, thank the cinema gods that Hollywood had little to do with this little gem of a movie. From its opening scenes, Lazhar demonstrates that it's a beautifully composed work. The colours of the film are rich but not over...

Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson in Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene Michelle Williams Strikes Twice: Vancouver Film Critics Nominations 2011 Best Film * The Artist The Descendants The Tree of Life Best Foreign Language Film * A Separation Poetry The Kid with a Bike Best Actor * Michael Fassbender, Shame Jean Dujardin, The Artist Michael Shannon, Take Shelter Best Actress * Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn Best Supporting Actor Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn Albert Brooks, Drive * Christopher Plummer, Beginners Best Supporting Actress * Jessica Chastain, The Help, Take Shelter, The Tree of Life Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids Shailene Woodley, The Descendants Best Director Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist * Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life Martin Scorsese, Hugo Best Documentary * Cave of Forgotten Dreams The Interrupters Nostalgia for the Light Project Nim Surviving Progress Best Screenplay Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris * Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist...

Michelle Williams, Luke Kirby, Take This Waltz With four nominations, Michel Hazanavicius' silent comedy-drama The Artist is the top nominee in the international categories of the Vancouver Film Critics Circle's 2011 Awards. [Full list of Vancouver Film Critics nominees.] Starring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, The Artist is set at the dawn of the talkie era, as screen icon George Valentin (Dujardin) sees his star fade while newcomer Peppy Miller (Bejo) becomes a hit in early talkies. Hazanavicius says The Artist was inspired by the life of silent-era superstar John Gilbert, but the film — officially an original screenplay — clearly owes quite a bit to What Price Hollywood? and the first two A Star Is Born movies. (Gilbert was, to a certain extent, an inspiration for those movies as well. His career stalled, while wife Ina Claire fared well in a couple of early talkies, most notably The Royal Family of Broadway. Gilbert's one-time girlfriend Greta Garbo, I should add,...

Jean Dujardin, Missi Pyle, The Artist Michelle Williams Strikes Twice: Vancouver Film Critics Nominations 2011 Best Film The Artist The Descendants The Tree of Life Best Foreign Language Film A Separation Poetry The Kid with a Bike Best Actor Michael Fassbender, Shame Jean Dujardin, The Artist Michael Shannon, Take Shelter Best Actress Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn Best Supporting Actor Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn Albert Brooks, Drive Christopher Plummer, Beginners Best Supporting Actress Jessica Chastain, The Help, Take Shelter, The Tree of Life Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids Shailene Woodley, The Descendants Best Director Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist Terence Malick, The Tree of Life Martin Scorsese, Hugo Best Documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams The Interrupters Nostalgia for the Light Project Nim Surviving Progress Best Screenplay Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash,...

Following up their initial competition announcement the folks at the Sundance Film Festival have released the names of thirty additional 2012 selections, in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, Next, and New Frontiers sections.

Although these sections tend to focus more on young and up-and-coming filmmakers (particularly the Next sidebar, which was created just a few years ago with that specific mandate), you might find a few names you recognize in the full list of invited films below. Next is where you'll find the new film from "Great World of Sound" director Craig Zobel; it's called "Compliance" and it's described as the (based-on-a-)true story of what happens "when a prank caller convinces a fast food restaurant manager to interrogate an innocent young employee." Lynn Shelton, director of "Humpday," will premiere "Your Sister's Sister" starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and "Humpday"s Mark Duplass. Duplass also wrote his wife Katie Aselton...

Sundance continues to announce their lineups for each program and now we have the list of movies featured in the Spotlight section – the non-competition section where the festival screens some of their favourite films from other fests. Here is the lineup for 2012.

Corpo Celeste / Italy (Director and screenwriter: Alice Rohrwacher) — After moving back to southern Italy with her mother and older sister, 13-year-old Marta struggles to find her place, restlessly testing the boundaries of an unfamiliar city and the catechism of the Catholic church. Cast: Yle Vianello, Salvatore Cantalupo, Anita Caprioli, Renato Carpentiere.

Declaration Of War / Belgium (Director: Valérie Donzelli, Screenwriters: Jérémie Elkaïm, Valérie Donzelli) — A young couple embark upon a painful, enlightening journey when they discover that their newborn child is very ill. Cast: Valérie Donzelli, Jérémie Elkaïm, César Desseix. North American Premiere.

Elena / Russia (Director: Andrei Zvyagintsev, Screenwriter: Oleg Negin) — A meditative, modern-noir tale about an older woman,...

Yesterday Sundance released their films up for competition for the 2012 festival. But that was only one half of the festival slate. Now Sundance has released the second half of films that will be released as part of the festivities. Films in competition are just as interesting as those not in competition and with titles The Raid and Wuthering Heights are all on the list, it will be a fun watch this year.

Check out the list for the Out of Competition film that can be seen at the Sundance Film Festival 2012 below.

Spotlight

Corpo Celeste / Italy (Director and screenwriter: Alice Rohrwacher) — After moving back to southern Italy with her mother and older sister, 13-year-old Marta struggles to find her place, restlessly testing the boundaries of an unfamiliar city and the catechism of the Catholic church.Cast: Yle Vianello, Salvatore Cantalupo, Anita Caprioli, Renato Carpentiere.

Declaration Of War / Belgium (Director: Valérie Donzelli,...

Yesterday The Sundance Film Festival released their list of In-Competition films, today they have released their line-up of Non-Competition films. I've had a blast every year that I've attended The Sundance Film Festival, it's always a surprise! You never know what movie you are going to see until you see it. If you ever get a chance to go I highly recommend that you do. Each film on the list has a little description next to it. The festival will take place January 19th to the 29th.

Check out the list of movies below and let us know of any that you are interested in watching or hearing about so that we can get it covered for you. Some of the films might look familiar to you such as The Raid, Grabbers and Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, and Wuthering Heights. The Raid is at the top of...

Yesterday the Sundance Film Festival announced the core lineup of films [1] that will be spotlit in the Competition slates at the 2012 festival. Now we've got a lineup of films that will play out of competition in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, Next <=> and New Frontier schedules. There are a few films in here with which you might be nominally familiar, like The Raid, Grabbers and Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, not to mention Andrea Arnold's new version of Wuthering Heights. But many are new announcements. While the competition lineups are always a good place to look for some of the films that will be the most talked-about in the year following each Sundance fest, these schedules are where some of the more unique and provocative films live. There are still some big premieres to be announced next week, but if I was making a big Sundance wishlist,...

Getty Images The marquee of the Egyptian Theater announces the Sundance Film Festival

Yesterday, the Sundance Institute announced its in-competition narrative and documentary films for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Today, they announced their out-of-competition film in the Spotlight, Midnight, Next and New Frontier sections. The full list is below:

Spotlight

Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.

Corpo Celeste / Italy (Director and screenwriter: Alice Rohrwacher) — After...

Following yesterday's announcement of the titles lined up for the four programs of the Competition, the Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the lineups of its out-of-competition sections: Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, Next <=> and New Frontier. This time, I'm going to go ahead and copy-n-paste the release nearly in full because, well, these are, potentially at least, the more interesting batches.

We'll cut in just as Trevor Groth, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival, is saying, “In many ways, the extremes of the Festival’s program are most readily apparent in our out-of-competition sections, which showcase the wildest comedies, the most terrifying horror films and uncompromised visions from singular voices springing up from around the country and the world. We hope audiences experiment with their film selections to an equal degree as these filmmakers have experimented with their storytelling.”

Spotlight

Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world,...

It'll be a Tiff does Sundance this year in the Spotlight Program as the majority of the films programmed in the section (which staffers state, "regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love") are films that moved from Cannes to Tiff en route to Sundance or had their world premieres at Tiff and are moving into Park City. Among the highlights we have have several Foreign Oscar submissions in Declaration Of War (France), Monsieur Lazhar (Canada) and Where Do We Go Now? (Lebanon), we have heavyweight audience favorites from Tiff in Lynn Shelton's Your Sister's Sister and Gareth Evans' The Raid and Andrea Arnold will have her U.S premiere for Wuthering Heights in Park City. Among the "must see" titles in the batch of nine is Andrei Zvyagintsev's Elena - (see pic above...

Following yesterday’s announcement of competition titles, Sundance Film Festival 2012 have announced the line-up for a few more sections today. In their Spotlight section we have a few of my favorite Tiff titles, including Wuthering Heights (pictured above), Your Sister’s Sister, as well as audience-winners The Raid and Where Do We Go Now? We also get the insane-looking Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie in the midnight section. Check out the list below.

Park City, Ut — Sundance Institute announced today the films selected to screen in the 2012 Sundance Film Festival out-of-competition sections Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, Next <=> and New Frontier. The Festival takes place from January 19 through 29 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The complete list of films is available at www.sundance.org/festival.

Trevor Groth, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival, said, “In many ways, the extremes of the...

Today the out-of-competition films were announced for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

The complete list of titles are below. See the films in competition here.

Some of the highlights here include the U.S. premiere of Lynn Shelton‘s Your Sister’s Sister, which received a lot of buzz at Toronto; Katie Aselton‘s thriller Black Rock starring Lake Bell and Kate Bosworth; found footage horror V/H/S directed by Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg and Radio Silence; and Craig Zobel‘s follow-up to The Great World of Sound, Compliance and Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie (no further description needed).

Films in the Premieres sections will be announced Dec. 5. The 2012 Sundance Film Festival takes place Jan. 19-29.

Spotlight

Corpo Celeste / Italy (Director and screenwriter: Alice Rohrwacher) — After moving back to southern Italy with her mother and older sister, 13-year-old Marta struggles to find her place,...

How do you turn a hostage situation concerning cocaine, eviction notices, and Algerian assassins into a stage for bureaucratic ineptitude and slum reform? Ask Angelo Cianci because his film Dernier étage gauche gauche [Top Floor, Left Wing] does it and more. A darkly comic take on generally serious circumstances, a normal day in the life of bailiff François Etcheveria (Hippolyte Girardot) becomes one he’ll never forget. The first apartment of twelve on his list to evict and catalogue property for compensation, no one could have known Mohand’s (Mohamed Fellag) home would be hiding the kinds of secrets it is. One desperate maneuver by son Salem (Aymen Saïdi), though, lands Etcheveria in the bathroom, tied up by tape, and looking down the barrel of a gun.

Both action and comedy start right after an opening credit sequence shows our main players passing each other on the street. Mohand is coming home as the...

Yesterday, Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma (Fnc) revealed that while the French film La guerre est déclarée will open the event, it will be up to the Canadian film Monsieur Lazhar to close the Fnc.

The French film La guerre est déclarée will open on October 12 at the Imperial Movie Theatre. As for Monsieur Lazhar, it will be screened on October 23.

Directed by Valérie Donzelli, La guerre est déclarée is about a couple's struggle to save their child's life. Their child is diagnosed with cancer.

As for Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar, its story is centred on an illegal Algerian immigrant (played by French comedian Fellag) who arrives in Montreal. That illegal immigrant accepts to replace an elementary school teacher.

Stay stuned, because the Fnc will unveil its complete line-up of films on September 27.

Yesterday, the Toronto International Film Festival, which will take place between September 8 and 18, unveiled the list of Canadian films that will be screened.

Galas

A Dangerous Method Director: David Cronenberg Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Sarah Gadon

Starbuck

Director: Ken Scott

Cast: Patrick Huard, Antoine Bertrand and Patrick Labbé

Take This Waltz Director: Sarah Polley Cast: Seth Rogen, Michelle Williams and Sarah Silverman

Canada First

Marécages Director: Guy Édoin Cast: Pascale Bussières, Luc Picard, Gabriel Maillé and François Papineau

Amy George Directors: Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas Cast: Gabriel del Castillo Mullally, Claudia Dey, Don Kerr and Natasha Allan

Nuit #1 Director: Anne Émond Cast: Catherine de Léan and Dimitri Storoge

The Odds Directors: Simon Davidson Cast: Tyler Johnston, Calum Worthy and Julia Maxwell

The Patron Saints Directors: Melanie Shatzky and Brian M. Cassidy

Roméo Onze Director: Ivan Grbovic Cast: Ali Ammar, Joseph Bou Nassar, Eleonore Millier, May Hilal...