Monsieur Lazhar

In Montreal, an elementary school teacher hangs herself. Bachir Lazhar, 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. Mohamed Fellag plays Bachir Lazhar, a charismatic Algerian immigrant with a painful past. As the children try to move on from their former teacher's suicide, nobody at the school is aware of Bachir's painful past, or his precarious status as a refugee. The film explores Bachir's relationships with the students and faculty, and how the students come to grips with their former teacher's suicide.