Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar

Oscar nominated for his acclaimed French Canadian tearjerker Monsieur Lazhar as one of five best foreign language films of 2011, writer-director Philippe Falardeau discusses how he expanded a one-man stage work, found his immigrant teacher Lazhar in Paris and cast his superbly nuanced child actors only after meeting their parents. Monsieur Lazahar, he explains, tells of the dual healing process between a school class traumatized by their teacher’s suicide – in the classroom! – and Lazhar’s recovery following the death of his family in Algeria.

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