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27-629: In 1987, Tarragon purchased and renovated the building that has been its home since 1971. There are two performance spaces: the Mainspace (205 seats), and The Extra Space (113 seats). Tarragon is well known for its development, creation and encouragement of new work. Over 170 works have premiered at Tarragon. Playwrights who have premiered their work here include Morwyn Brebner , David French , Michael Healey , Joan MacLeod , Morris Panych , James Reaney , Jason Sherman , Brendan Gall , Hannah Moscovitch , Ellie Moon and Judith Thompson . The theatre

54-531: A half stars in The Boston Globe , judging it to be intimate with realistic portrayals of the children. The Hollywood Reporter ' s Stephen Farber praised it as a "nearly perfect gem" and commended young actors Nelisse and Émilien Néron. Critic Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post called the film one of the ten best of 2012. Dissenting, David Denby wrote in The New Yorker that the film

81-534: A man with hidden grief and also a compelling exploration of the teacher-student dynamic". It also has a score of 82 on Metacritic , based on 31 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". In Canada, Jennie Punter gave it four stars in The Globe and Mail , praising it as "an exquisite, humanistic and subtly topical work of cinema art." Peter Howell gave it four stars in The Toronto Star , complimenting

108-545: A one-character play by Évelyne de la Chenelière , it tells the story of an Algerian refugee in Montreal who steps in to teach at an elementary school after the former full-time teacher dies by suicide. Falardeau opted to film the story for the Canadian company micro_scope, despite the challenges of adapting a play with only one character. De la Cheneliere advised Falardeau and recommended casting Algerian comedian Fellag. It

135-436: A recent Algerian immigrant, then offers his services to replace her, claiming to have taught in his home country. Desperate to fill the position, the principal, Mme Vaillancourt, takes him at his word and gives him the job. He gets to know his students despite both the evident culture gap and his difficulty adapting to the school system's constraints. As the children try to move on from their former teacher's suicide, nobody at

162-517: A restaurant. He is then fired from the school. He asks the principal to be able to teach one more day, convincing her by noting that the old teacher never got to say goodbye to her students. On his last day, Bachir has his students correct a fable he wrote which is a metaphor of his tragic past life in Algeria and the loss of his family in a fire. Before he leaves, one of his students, Alice (whom he professed to be his favourite to her mother), gives him

189-408: A tearful hug goodbye. The source material Bachir Lazhar is a one-character play, making it a challenge to adapt for the screen. However, producers Luc Dery and Kim McCraw attended a performance with director Philippe Falardeau , and Falardeau expressed excitement about making a film version. Bachir Lazhar author Évelyne de la Chenelière suggested Falardeau cast comedian Mohamed Fellag as

216-607: A television writer her credits have included episodes of The Eleventh Hour , At the Hotel , Moose TV , King , Rookie Blue , Saving Hope , Bellevue and Coroner , and she was executive producer of Rookie Blue , Saving Hope , Bellevue and Coroner . She is married to playwright Michael Healey . Monsieur Lazhar Monsieur Lazhar is a 2011 Canadian French-language drama film directed by Philippe Falardeau and starring Mohamed Saïd Fellag , Sophie Nélisse and Danielle Proulx . Based on Bashir Lazhar ,

243-417: A worldwide total of $ 6,581,915. Telefilm Canada credited it, along with Incendies and other films, with doubling domestic and worldwide gross on its works in 2011. The film received critical acclaim. At Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds a rating of 98%, based on 118 reviews and an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus states, " Monsieur Lahzar is a tender and thoughtful portrait of

270-555: Is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada . Her first play, Music for Contortionist , premiered at Tarragon Theatre in 2000 and was a shortlisted nominee for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play . Her subsequent plays have included Liquor Guns Karate ; Little Mercy's First Murder , which won six Dora Awards, including Outstanding New Musical; The Optimists , which

297-410: Is found to have a photo of his former teacher. It is revealed that he tried to get her into trouble after she tried to help him through his family struggles. Bachir eventually gets the students to open up about the death, especially Simon, who is blamed and blames himself for causing the teacher's suicide. Eventually, some parents discover that Bachir has no teaching qualification ; previously, he had run

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324-597: Is housed in a building originally designed for light industrial use, including as a cribbage board factory. It cost $ 9,000 to renovate. The company's first production was David Freeman's Creeps . Tarragon has championed the work of Canadian playwrights David French , Michel Tremblay , Judith Thompson , Jason Sherman, George F. Walker , Morris Panych , Carole Frechette , Michael Healey , Daniel MacIvor , Hannah Moscovitch , Wajdi Mouawad and others, as well as productions of plays by canonical playwrights such as Anton Chekhov and August Strindberg . Urjo Kareda founded

351-582: The University of Guelph . 43°40′30″N 79°24′47″W  /  43.674970°N 79.412995°W  / 43.674970; -79.412995 Morwyn Brebner Morwyn Brebner is a Welsh playwright, television writer and producer, best known as creator and producer of the television series Rookie Blue and Saving Hope . Born in Cardiff , Wales and raised in Ottawa , Ontario , Brebner

378-607: The global village and as accepting minorities, particularly Middle Easterners or "Muslim Others". They go on to remark that unlike the other two films, all of Monsieur Lazhar is set in Quebec. The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards , and on 18 January 2012, it was named as one of the nine shortlisted entries for the Oscars. Six days later,

405-475: The film for simplicities and complexities, and for Fellag's emotion. The Montreal Gazette ' s Brendan Kelly credited Philippe Falardeau for keeping the film from becoming overly sentimental. Roger Ebert awarded it three and a half stars, calling it a film of "no simple questions and simple answers." In The Los Angeles Times , Kenneth Turan praised it for capturing authentic emotions, while refraining from becoming overbearing. Ty Burr rated it three and

432-628: The film was named as one of the five nominees. Alongside the Polish-Canadian co-production In Darkness , which was submitted and nominated on behalf of Poland , the two films marked the first time in the history of Canadian cinema that two films with Canadian connections were finalists for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in the same year. It is also the second consecutive year that a Canadian film in French

459-695: The production could use the school and so the educations of the child actors were not disrupted. Four of the shooting days occurred in the winter. Child actress Sophie Nélisse turned 10 shortly before shooting began. Monsieur Lazhar debuted at the Locarno International Film Festival in August 2011, followed by a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2011. It

486-525: The protagonist, and Falardeau learned how to contact Fellag by researching the comedian's YouTube videos. Falardeau said he continuously consulted de la Cheneliere, allowing her to review screenplay drafts. It was shot in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal , Montreal. There were 28 days of shooting, about an average time for a film to be shot in Quebec . The principal filming occurred in the summer so

513-450: The school is aware of Bachir's painful past, or his precarious status as a refugee . His wife, who was a teacher and writer, died along with the couple's daughter and son in an arson attack. The murderers were angered by her last book, in which she pointed a finger at those responsible for the country's reconciliation, which had led to the liberation of many perpetrators of serious crimes. The film goes on to explore Bachir's relationships with

540-417: The students and faculty, and how the students come to grips with their former teacher's suicide. One student, Alice, writes an assignment on the death of their teacher, revealing the deep pain and confusion felt by each of the students. Bachir eventually comes to be loved and respected by the students he is teaching, but the teacher's death still haunts the students. During a school dance, a student named Simon

567-417: The theatre's Playwrights Unit in 1982. The Spring Arts Fair showcased works in progress, including an early version of Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt 's 2 Pianos, 4 Hands , which later toured around the world. The theatre holds two performances venues, containing approximately 200 and 100 seats respectively. One of the rehearsal halls can be used as a performance area, seating 60. The 2020–21 season

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594-682: Was a shortlisted finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language drama in 2006; Love Among the Russians ; The President ; and Heartbreaker . She was the English translator of Évelyne de la Chenelière 's plays Strawberries in January (Des fraises en janvier) , Bashir Lazhar and Public Disorder (Désordre public) , and of Serge Boucher's Motel Hélène . She remained playwright-in-residence at Tarragon until 2012. As

621-697: Was also planned for April 2012. In 2023, Telefilm Canada announced that the film was one of 23 titles that will be digitally restored under its new Canadian Cinema Reignited program to preserve classic Canadian films. By 15 November 2011, the film made $ 1 million in Quebec theatres. By 19 December 2012, it made over $ 1 million in the U.S., with Falardeau also claiming success in Japan, the Netherlands and Spain. Monsieur Lazhar grossed $ 2,009,517 in North America and $ 4,572,398 in other countries, for

648-638: Was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and productions were moved online, including audio recordings of plays available through a CBC podcast. It remains one of the foremost organizations for producing new plays in Canada. The company has received numerous awards including Governor General's Awards , Dora Mavor Moore Awards and the Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts . The company's archives are held at

675-712: Was featured at the Whistler Film Festival in December 2011, and selected for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival . The film opened in Montreal on 22 October 2011. It was released in Toronto and Vancouver on 27 January 2012, a few days after it was announced in January 2012 that it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . A limited release in the United States

702-638: Was filmed in Montreal. After premiering at the Locarno International Film Festival , where it won the Audience Award and the Variety Piazza Grande Award, it received critical acclaim. The film was subsequently nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards , and also won six Genie Awards , including Best Motion Picture . In Montreal , an elementary school teacher hangs herself . Bachir Lazhar,

729-514: Was smart, but lacked the emotion to take on life. University of Berlin film scholar Claudia Kotte wrote Monsieur Lazhar , along with Incendies (2010), War Witch and Inch'Allah (2012), represent a break from focus in the Cinema of Quebec on local history to more global concerns. Authors Gada Mahrouse, Chantal Maillé and Daniel Salée wrote McCraw and Déry's films, Incendies , Monsieur Lazhar and Inch'Allah , depict Quebec as part of

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