MONTREAL - For the second straight year, the Oscar for best foreign language film slipped through the hands of a Quebec filmmaker as the Iranian film Separation got the nod over Monsieur Lazhar Sunday night in Los Angeles.
The Philippe Falardeau film has received countless accolades at festivals around the world in recent months, after having seduced Quebec audiences and critics.
Monsieur Lazhar was the sixth Canadian feature film to be nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film, after Incendies by Denis Villeneuve in 2011, Water by Deepa Mehta in 2007, and three works by Denys Arcand: The Decline of the American Empire in 1987, Jesus of Montreal in 1990 and The Barbarian Invasions in 2004, which won the prize.
This setback did not prevent the National Arts Centre (NAC) from congratulating Falardeau Sunday evening.
"The whole team is immensely proud of Philippe Falardeau," said President and CEO of the NAC, Peter Herrndorf, in a statement.
"The fact that Mr. Lazhar was nominated for an Oscar is helping to fuel even more interest worldwide for this wonderful and incredibly touching movie."
The links between Philippe Falardeau and the National Arts Centre date back to the 1980s, when Falardeau worked there as an usher.
On a visit to the NAC earlier this month, Faladeau appeared jokingly with an usher's flashlight at a screening of his film organized by the Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore, and Telefilm Canada.
The gala season is not over for Falardeau's fourth feature film, as it's up for nine prizes at the Jutra and Genie award ceremonies.
