Music Box acquires U.S. privileges to 'Lazhar'

Music Box Films has acquired U.S. privileges to Philippe Falardeau's "Monsieur Lazhar," Canada's official submission towards the Oscars for the best Language Film.Music Box made the announcement Thursday."Lazhar" won the crowd Award in the Locarno Film Festival and was named Best Canadian Feature a week ago in the Toronto Worldwide Film Festival. Pic seemed to be named now because the opening film for that fifth edition from the Abu Dhabi Film Festival on March. 13."Monsieur Lazhar," toplining Mohamed Fellag, Emilien Neron and Sophie Nelisse, follows the storyplot of the Algerian immigrant, who's hired to exchange an elementary school teacher who tragically died.The film may be the latest manufacture of Microscope, exactly the same Montreal-based production company that created "Incendies."The offer was discussed by Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, someone in worldwide sales agency Films Distribution and Music Box Films' controlling director Edward Arentz. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com