Yesterday (September 18), the 36th Toronto International Film Festival announced its award recipients.
The award for best Canadian feature film went to Philippe Falardeau for Monsieur Lazhar. The jury remarked: “Very rarely does a film come along that does everything perfectly. At the end of this movie, my jury members looked at each other, with tears in our eyes. We came to a unanimous decision… a film that explores loss, exile, and the truths we tell our children.”
Monsieur Lazhar tells the story of an Algerian immigrant who gets a teaching job and must help his students deal with the death of his predecessor, who committed suicide.
The film beat out contenders A Dangerous Method by David Cronenberg, Take This Waltz by Sarah Polley, Café de Flore by Jean-Marc Vallée, and Ken Scott’s Starbuck.
The award puts the film in the running to represent Canada in the upcoming Oscar race, with the film entry expected to be announced later this week.
Additional awards:
Best Canadian first feature film: Edwin Boyd by Nathan Morlando
Best Canadian short film: Doubles With Slight Pepper by Ian Harnarine
International Film Critics Award: Avalon by Axel Petersen (Sweden)
People’s Choice Award: Where Do We Go Now? by Nadine Labaki (Lebanon)
People’s Choice documentary: The Island President by Jon Shenk (United States)
People’s Choice midnight madness: The Raid by Gareth Evans (Indonesia)