This Teacher

This Teacher is a 2018 film directed by Mark Jackson and distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures.[2][3]

This Teacher
Film poster
Directed byMark Jackson
Written byMark Jackson
Dana Thompson
Produced byMark Jackson
Dana Thompson
Gigi Graff
Josh Mandel
Javier Gonzalez
StarringHafsia Herzi
Sarah Kazemy
Lucy Walters
Kevin Kane
Lev Gore
Gabe Fazio
Rebekah del Rio
CinematographyJohn Barr
Edited byMark Jackson
Gary Chan
Music byDave Eggar
Chuck Palmer
Distributed byBreaking Glass Pictures
Release date
  • September 22, 2018 (2018-09-22) (Los Angeles)[1]
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film premiered at the 2018 LA Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Fiction Award.[4] It also was the closing night film of the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival.[5]

Plot

A French Muslim woman (Hafsia Herzi) travels to New York City from the rough neighborhoods outside of Paris to visit her childhood best friend Zahra (Sarah Kazemy). Hafsia finds that Zahra was not the girl she knew growing up in Paris. She now goes by Sarah and has completely assimilated into Western culture. Sarah explains to her much older boyfriend (Gabe Fazio) that Hafsia stinks and she doesn't want her to stay there anymore, which Hafsia overhears. Hafsia steals Sarah's credit card and identity, then disappears to a remote cabin upstate. Deep in the woods and alone for the first time in her life, she experiences a divine revelation. Sarah arrives and tries to convince Hafsia to return with her, which she refuses.

An animal breaks into Hafsia's cabin and steals all the food. Initially a couple, teacher Rose (Lucy Walters) and policeman Darren (Kevin Kane), help her. But Hafsia begins to see intolerance and suspicion which reflects back to an Islamophobic America. This third act explores themes such as the inherent racism and naivety that comes along with being a white American, that most white Americans don't even know they have or the rampant Islamophobia that has overtaken most of the world, and the difficulties of being a Muslim, particularly a Muslim woman, in a post-911 world.[6][7][8]

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews from critics, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of critics have given the film a positive review based on seven reviews.[6]

References
  1. "2018 Los Angeles Film Festival * 9/20 – 9/28 - Film School Radio hosted by Mike Kaspar". Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  2. https://slamdance2019.eventive.org/films/this-teacher-5c0ac8673a3558001c1bb1fe
  3. "This Teacher - Political Drama - Independent Film". Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  4. "'Brian Banks' & Swedish Oscar Entry 'Border' Among Los Angeles Film Festival Winners". 28 September 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  5. "Watch: A Clip from Mark Jackson's Slamdance Closing Night Film, This Teacher". 31 January 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  6. "This Teacher". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  7. 'This Teacher': Film Review, Hollywood Reporter
  8. Lorry Kikta. January 27, 2019. This Teacher. Film Threat.
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