Here is an interview I conducted with Oscar-bound director of Monsieur Lazhar, Philippe Falardeau, before his TIFF2011 premiere. Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars and garnering nine nominations at the Genie Awards, including Best Director, Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay, Falardeau had a keen instinct that this was the film that would change his game. He was right.

Check out the interview here:

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The two front running films at this years' Genie Awards could not be more different, yet they tackle similar themes.

Their differences are at first most obvious. Passion versus intellect. Modern love story versus famed historical figures. Wave-making new talent versus iconic filmmaker.  Jean-Marc Vallée leads the Genie race with 13 nominations for his epic tale of love, spanning two continents and eras, Café de Flore. David Cronenberg follows with 11 nominations for his exploration of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freuds' difficult friendship in A Dangerous Method.

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Vancouver-based Network Entertainment is set to launch the world premiere of feature documentary, "I am Bruce Lee" in Vancouver on February 8, followed by a theatrical release in over 200 theaters in the United States and Canada. 

Network principal partners Derik Murray and Paul Gertz produced the acclaimed Muhammad Ali documentary "Facing Ali," directed by Pete McCormack, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2010. McCormack also directs "I am Bruce Lee," with Bruce Lee Enterprises and Lee's daughter Shannon Lee as executive producers.
The doc is already getting considerable buzz. Apparently, the trailer shot to No. 1 this week on iTunes.

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Today has been an exciting news day for Canada. Quebec filmmaker Philippe Falardeau has managed to earn his first Oscar nomination for Best Foreign-Language Film for "Monsieur Lazhar."

According to The Canadian Press, Falardeau admits that he "shrieked and leapt into his producer's arms" when he found out that he was shortlisted for one of the most coveted awards in cinema.

"I just heard 'Canada' and I screamed and I jumped into my producer's arms like a baby," he said.

But Falardeau is not the only Canadian rejoicing.  Poland's submission, "In Darkness," is also nominated -- the film is also co-produced by Germany, France, and Canada (by Eric Jordan and Paul Stephen) - with Torontonian David Shamoon responsible for the screenplay. Christopher Plummer got a nod for his work in front of the camera as best supporting actor in "Beginners" and composer Howard Shore scored a nomination for his work on "Hugo." Canadians must have a good ear because sound mixer David Giammarco also got a nomination for "Moneyball."
National Film Board of Canada shorts "Wild Life" and "Dimanche/Sunday" were also nominated.
On behalf of First Weekend Club, we would like to congratulate them all on the nominations! It really IS an honour just to get nominated. Now on to winning…

Montreal filmmaker Philippe Falardeau ("It's Not Me, I Swear") has a lot to be happy about. His film, "Monsieur Lazhar," has made the second-to-last shortlist (consisting of nine films) in the category of foreign-language film at the Academy Awards. The final five foreign-language contenders will be unveiled on Tuesday morning, Jan. 24 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"Monsieur Lazhar," the story of an Algerian immigrant who helps a class of middle-school students deal with the loss of their regular teacher, has been performing well at the box-office in Quebec and getting rave reviews.  Falardeau was also recently announced as one of Variety's "Ten Directors to Watch."

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