The film is on the shortlist for next month\'s Academy Awards in the best foreign language film category, and is expected to fare well in the prestigious Cesar Awards on February 27.
The film documents a year in the life of a French high school, as its low-paying teacher contends with disaffected students and clashing cultures. Sony Pictures will release the film in Australia this week (on January 22).
The Class had received four nominations, along with Francois Dupeyron\'s With a Little Help From Myself and Martin Provost\'s Seraphine. Short-listed in the Oscar\'s foreign-language category, The Class also is considered a favorite for the Cesars, which take place next month.
In other Lumiere news, Francois Dupeyron won the director prize for With a Little Help From Myself, a comedy/drama about the ups and downs of a family of immigrants in the outskirts of Paris.
Acting honours went to Yolande Moreau (Seraphine) and Vincent Cassel (Mesrine), and the award scriptwriting went to Samuel Benchetrit for I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster, which on the Sundance World Cinema Screenwriting Award in 2008.
