Joining us for the after movie Q&A is noted Island Child, Adolescent, and Adult psychiatrist, Dominic Maxwell, M.D.
Dr. Maxwell serves as Medical Director at the Island Counseling Center of Martha's Vineyard Community Services and also maintains a Private Practice on the Island.
2012 Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Picture
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"Fellag, a comedian and himself an exile from Algeria, makes Lazhar both a sensitive and an amusing figure. And the kids are just terrific, especially Emilien Neron as a boy who carries the guilt of the whole school on his shoulders."
-- J Bob Mondello, NPR
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In Montreal, an elementary school teacher dies abruptly. Having learned of the incident in the newspaper, Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant, goes to the school to offer his services as a substitute teacher. Quickly hired to replace the deceased, he finds himself in an establishment in crisis, while going through his own personal tragedy. The cultural gap between Bachir and his class is made immediately apparent when he gives them a dictation exercise that is beyond their reach. Little by little, Bachir learns to better know this group of shaken but endearing kids, among whom are Alice and Simon, two charismatic pupils particularly affected by their teacher's death. While the class goes through the healing process, nobody in the school is aware of Bachir's painful past; nor do they suspect that he is at risk of being deported at any moment.
Canada * 2012 * 94 minutes * Drama * Rated PG-13 * French with English subtitles