News

Outplay Films’ “Turtles,” directed by David Lambert, has landed U.S. distribution with Dark Star Pictures. The film, which stars Dave Johns, Olivier Gourmet and Brigitte Poupart, follows a long-married couple who are headed for divorce.

The official synopsis reads: “Since Thom and Henri met 35 years ago, their love for each other has never faltered. The seemingly perfect life they had built in Brussels started to go awry when Henri retired from being a police officer. Now, Henri’s days seem to stretch endlessly, each one as bland as the next while his feelings for Thom are fading fast. They drift away from each other a little more each day, to the point that their house has become a battleground. Thom’s love for Henri remains strong though and he is not ready to give up. He will do anything to save his relationship and rekindle their love, even if...

On paper, writer/director Renée Beaulieu's Les Salopes or The Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin sounds like a great opportunity to be a bit risqué: the movie stars Brigitte Poupart as Marie-Claire, a professor of dermatology embarking on a new research project which aims to find a correlation between skin's response to different forms of sexual release and whether emotions, love and lust, affect skin, and hence human response to sexual stimulation, differently.

What one can't prepare for is Beaulieu's in-your-face approach to female sexuality which , even in films which focus on women and their sex lives, never quite reach this level of openness and it can be unnerving. Thankfully, Beaulieu doesn't hide her approach and it's abundantly clear from the film's openin...

Filmoption International cuts deals on adventures of a married woman who must face the music.

Canadian Renée Beaulieu’s Tiff premiere Les Salopes Or The Naturally Wanton Pleasure Of Skin has sold to Japan and Germany.

Filmoption International’s Andrew Noble licensed rights to At Entertainment in Japan, and to Atlas Film in Germany.

Les Salopes Or The Naturally Wanton Pleasure centres on a self-assured woman and her sexual adventures. When a scandal threatens to reveal deep secrets, a happily married wife and mother with a promiscuous other life must confront the consequences her choices have for her family and career.

Can skin tell the difference between love and desire? It’s an intriguing question Marie-Claire (Brigitte Poupart) can’t help but want to answer as a dermatology professor and lover of sex if only to supply a reprieve from the usual carcinoma studies her doctorate students tediously gravitate towards. She knows the young woman who presents it (Charlotte Aubin’s Sofia) is up to the challenge scholastically, but unsure experimentally. So Marie-Claire takes it upon herself to collect samples of her own cells before and after masturbating, those from a one-night stand (Paul Ahmarani’s Louis) she met at lunch one day, her husband Adam’s (Vincent Leclerc), and who knows how many others that she sleeps with too. It’s an increase in suitors that inevitably risks her personal and professional lives for science.

Writer/director Renée Beaulieu refuses to let her film Les Salopes or The Naturally Wanton...

A remote village in Quebec is terrorized by a flesh-eating plague, in the latest from Robin Aubert. Actor Marc-André Grondin (Goon) stars in the arthouse horror thriller Les Affamés (Ravenous), alongside actress Monia Chokri (Venice/Tiff 2016 selection Réparer les vivants), Veteran actresses Micheline Lanctôt (My Internship in Canada) and Brigitte Poupart (Monsieur Lazhar). “The film follows a group of rural villagers as they try to escape their family […]...

Netflix continues to show interest in Canadian film properties. They have committed to investing $500 million to Canadian content, over the next five years. Their latest acquisition is the French language, zombie thriller Les Affamés. Aka The Ravenous, this horror title was partially shot in Ham-nord, Quebec. In the film, a small Quebec village is under attack, by the living dead. Survivors head out into the local woods as the countryside descends into chaos. Les Affamés stars: Marc-André Grondin (Che: Part Two, 2008), Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt and Brigitte Poupart. The film's "Learning to Shoot" clip is hosted here. The "Learning to Shoot" clip shows the survivors, in the local woods. They are planning their escape, with the undead all around. They handles weapons while talking about a potential route to safety. Les Affamés has shown at dozens of film festivals, winning awards at many. This title is slated for a March 2nd release,...

We've been excited for Daily Dead readers to check out the zombie movie Les Affamés since it screened at Fantastic Fest (read Heather Wixson's review here), so today we're thrilled to share the news that Netflix has acquired Robin Aubert's French-Canadian film for a March 2nd premiere on the streaming service, and to celebrate, a new clip has been revealed as well:

Press Release: Hollywood, Calif., February 1, 2018 - Netflix today announced the acquisition of the award-winning French-Canadian film Les Affamés, written and directed by Robin Aubert (Saint Martyrs of the Damned, Crying Out), one of the most unique voices in Québécois cinema.

The critically acclaimed film stars Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt, Brigitte Poupart, Charlotte St-Martin, Marie-Ginette Guay Luc Proulx and Édouard Tremblay-Grenier. The film is produced by Stéphanie Morissette and C.S. Roy of La maison de prod (Montreal).

In Les Affamés, Aubert returns to his horror...

A remote village in Quebec is terrorized by a flesh-eating plague, in the latest from Robin Aubert. Actor Marc-André Grondin (Goon) stars in the arthouse horror thriller Les Affamés (Ravenous), alongside actress Monia Chokri (Venice/Tiff 2016 selection Réparer les vivants), Veteran actresses Micheline Lanctôt (My Internship in Canada) and Brigitte Poupart (Monsieur Lazhar). “The film follows a group of rural villagers as they try to escape their family […]...

Film premiered last year in Toronto.

Netflix has acquired French-Canadian horror Les Affamés by Québécois filmmaker Robin Aubert (Saint Martyrs Of The Damned, Crying Out).

Aubert’s latest work takes place in a remote village in upstate Quebec where a handful of survivors go on the run after the bodies of local people break down and they turn against their loved ones.

Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt, Brigitte Poupart, Charlotte St-Martin, Marie-Ginette Guay Luc Proulx and Édouard Tremblay-Grenier star.

Stéphanie Morissette and C.S. Roy of La Maison de Prod in Montreal produced Les Affamés.

“Les Affamés enraptured audiences in Canada and we’re delighted to bring this unique Québécois voice to other countries around the world,” Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group, said.

“From the Us to Japan to France, millions of Netflix members will be able to stream Robin Aubert’s extraordinary thrill ride. This is another exciting example of the investment the company...

Film premiered last year in Toronto.

Netflix has acquired French-Canadian horror Les Affamés by Québécois filmmaker Robin Aubert (Saint Martyrs Of The Damned, Crying Out).

Aubert’s latest work takes place in a remote village in upstate Quebec where a handful of survivors go on the run after the bodies of local people break down and they turn against their loved ones.

Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt, Brigitte Poupart, Charlotte St-Martin, Marie-Ginette Guay Luc Proulx and Édouard Tremblay-Grenier star.

Stéphanie Morissette and C.S. Roy of La Maison de Prod in Montreal produced Les Affamés.

“Les Affamés enraptured audiences in Canada and we’re delighted to bring this unique Québécois voice to other countries around the world,” Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group, said.

“From the Us to Japan to France, millions of Netflix members will be able to stream Robin Aubert’s extraordinary thrill ride. This is another exciting example of the investment the company...

A remote village in Quebec is terrorized by a flesh-eating plague, in the latest from Robin Aubert. Actor Marc-André Grondin (Goon) stars in the arthouse horror thriller Les Affamés (Ravenous), alongside actress Monia Chokri (Venice/Tiff 2016 selection Réparer les vivants), Veteran actresses Micheline Lanctôt (My Internship in Canada) and Brigitte Poupart (Monsieur Lazhar). Directed by Aubert, who also penned the script, “The film follows a group of rural villagers […]...

The zombie film will never die, and as long as it’s popular, people from all over the world will take a stab at cashing in on the success of shows like The Walking Dead or films like World War Z. With Robin Aubert’s Les Affamés, French-Canadian cinema tries its hand at tackling the undead, and the results are mixed at best. The problem with taking on such a ubiquitous subgenre of horror is that it takes a lot to stand out from the herd; people have to either reinvent the wheel, or give it one hell of a spin in order to make a lasting impression. Aubert’s film falls somewhere in between those two outcomes by showing off strong technical skills but within a generic story.

Aubert structures his film around eight different characters trying to survive the aftermath of a zombie outbreak in rural Quebec. There...

A remote village in Quebec is terrorized by a flesh-eating plague, in the latest from Robin Aubert. Actor Marc-André Grondin (Goon) stars in the arthouse horror thriller Les Affamés (Ravenous), alongside actress Monia Chokri (Venice/Tiff 2016 selection Réparer les vivants), Veteran actresses Micheline Lanctôt (My Internship in Canada) and Brigitte Poupart (Monsieur Lazhar). Directed by Aubert, who also penned the script, “The film follows a group of rural […]...

The Scottish star, who unveiled the world premiere of his feature directorial American Pastoral in Toronto, will collect the honour at BAFTA La’s awards show on October 28.

The Britannia Humanitarian Award is presented to someone “who has used the art form of the moving image or their position in the entertainment industry to create positive social change, and actively shine a light on important humanitarian issues.”

McGregor has worked with Unicef to help children in conflict zones in Iraq and Syria.

As previously announced, Ang Lee will collect the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing, Samuel L. Jackson the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment, and Ricky Gervais the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy.

McGregor recently wrapped production on Trainspotting 2, in which he reprises his role as Renton opposite Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner and Robert Carlyle. Sony will release the film on February 3, 2017.

Several audience members...

I don’t’ share the popular opinion that 2012 has been a terrible year in film. It hasn’t been as strong as previous years but 2012 gave us such gems as Holy Motors, The Master, Berberian Sound Studio, Tabu, Skyfall and Moonrise Kingdom, to name a few. As with every year, I thought it appropriate to highlight some of the year’s most memorable individual moments, scenes, and sequences, from movies that may or may not have made our individual year-end lists. Which is no small feat considering just how insane the release calendar has become.

We are keeping out credit sequences since we feel it is an art form in itself.

Honourable Mentions:

The Deep Blue Sea – The underground flashback.

Oslo, August 31st – The cafe scene.

Miss Bala – The extended take during the shoot out .

Universal Solider 4 – The opening shotgun sequence.

Universal Solider 4 – The fight in the sport retail store.

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...

At the end of each month, the Sound On Sight staff will band together to write an article about their favourite scenes in films released. Here are our favourite scenes from the month of April.

Warning: Of course, spoilers are in full effect here!

Rebelle - Friendly ghost warning

There are a host of wonderful moments in this picture, but it is those which spoke to the film’s pseudo-supernatural nature that I remember most fondly. The protagonist’s connection to the spirit world has see see the ghosts of the dead at various moments. The nondescript actors portraying the spectres are painted in white from head to toe and their eyes are equipped with some strange contact lenses, thus perfectly whitening them as well. The ghosts are not scary per say, but definitely a creepy, odd addition to the picture, with their first ever appearance being the most effect,...

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...

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 ]...

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.

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.

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.

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,...

Monsieur Lazhar

Directed by Philippe Falardeau

Written by Philippe Falardeau

Canada, 2011

Monsieur Lazhar arrives at Tiff within the Special Presentations programme from festival darling Phillippe Falardreau (La Moitié gauche du frigo, Congorama, C’est pas moi, je le jure!) in astutedly breathtaking and heartfelt fashion. Blending the sometimes complex relationships between teachers and students in a delicate character study- the screenplay was expanded from a one-character play by Evelyne de la Cheneliere- reveals an almost fable-like tale of loss and light seen through the globalized lens of contemporary Montreal school culture.

The film opens on a tragic event involving the suicide of a well-liked elementary school teacher whose body is later discovered in her classroom by two of her students. The story of recovery though is seen mainly through the perspective of Bachir Lazhar, played with delighted nuance by Monhamned Fellag who steps in as the emergency replacement tasked with...

Monsieur Lazhar

Directed by Philippe Falardeau

Written by Philippe Falardeau

Canada, 2011

Monsieur Lazhar arrives at Tiff within the Special Presentations programme from festival darling Phillippe Falardreau (La Moitié gauche du frigo, Congorama, C’est pas moi, je le jure!) in astutedly breathtaking and heartfelt fashion. Blending the sometimes complex relationships between teachers and students in a delicate character study- the screenplay was expanded from a one-character play by Evelyne de la Cheneliere- reveals an almost fable-like tale of loss and light seen through the globalized lens of contemporary Montreal school culture.

The film opens on a tragic event involving the suicide of a well-liked elementary school teacher whose body is later discovered in her classroom by two of her students. The story of recovery though is seen mainly through the perspective of Bachir Lazhar, played with delighted nuance by Monhamned Fellag who steps in as the emergency replacement tasked with...

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...

There are a lot of Canadian films screening at the Toronto International Film Festival to be excited about, including works from our favourite filmmakers Guy Maddin, Bruce McDonald,Vincenzo Natali and Jean Marc Vallee. Below is the list of films in the Canada First selections as well as other CanCon movies scattered through the main programs.

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival® boasts a strong lineup of Canadian features including new works by acclaimed Canadian filmmakers Carl Bessai, Mike Clattenburg, Michael Dowse, Philippe Falardeau, Guy Maddin, Bruce McDonald, Léa Pool, Jean-Marc Vallée and Ingrid Veninger, and onscreen appearances by Jay Baruchel, Camilla Belle, Anupam Kher, Akshay Kumar, Mia Kirshner, Rob Lowe, Vanessa Paradis, Jason Patric, Alison Pill, Russell Peters, Isabella Rossellini, Liev Schreiber, Sean William Scott, Scott Speedman and Nick Stahl.

“This year saw many Canadian filmmakers address a wide range of pressing social issues including the dangers of progress...