The Good Teacher

The Good Teacher (Pas de Vagues) is a 2024 drama film directed by Teddy Lussi-Modeste from a screenplay he co-wrote with Audrey Diwan inspired by a true story that happened to the director in 2020, starring François Civil as a high school teacher who is wrongfully accused of sexual harassment by one of his students, a teenage girl, and must fight to prove his innocence. The film is a co-production between France and Belgium and had its world premiere at the Ramdam Festival in Belgium on 18 January 2024. It was released theatrically in France by Ad Vitam on 27 March 2024, and in Belgium by Cinéart on 3 April 2024.

Plot
Julien is a young high school teacher of literature who is wrongfully accused of sexual harassment by one of his students, a teenage girl, and must fight to clear his name while facing pressures from the girl's older brother and her classmates. Julien seeks support among his colleagues and superiors, but in the face of conflict, silence reigns. At the same time, Julien is hiding his homosexuality from his students and colleagues, until an intimate video that reveals his secret is leaked and begins circulating in the school, which ends up amplifying the spiral of violence against him.

Cast

 * François Civil as Julien
 * Shaïn Boumedine as Walid
 * Bakary Kebe as Modibo
 * Toscane Duquesne as Leslie
 * Marianne Ehouman as Roxana
 * Mallory Wanecque as Océane
 * Agnès Hurstel as Laura
 * Luna Ho Poumey as Erica
 * Emma Boumali as Sihem
 * Mohamed Fadiga as Yassine
 * Jawed Atik as Mohamed-Amine
 * Estevan Marchenoir as Theo
 * Myriam Djeljeli as Nora
 * Emilie Incerti-Formentini	as Claire
 * Mustapha Abourachid as Nasser
 * Armindo Alves de Sa as Steve
 * Francis Leplay as Musil
 * Fadily Camara	as Fatou
 * Walid Afkir as Oumar
 * Djilali Redjal as Gaspard
 * Malo Chanson-Demange as Kylian
 * Aaron Yapo as Glendy
 * Mia Yapo as Sara
 * Douglas Grauwels as Philippe

Development
The screenplay was co-written by Teddy Lussi-Modeste and Audrey Diwan, inspired by Lussi-Modeste's own experience when he was a French teacher at a school in Aubervilliers, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, and was wrongfully accused of harassing a 13-year-old female student in 2020. "All the teachers then went on strike, there were death threats, complaints to the police station...", explained the film's producer, Jean-Christophe Reymond, on what happened to Lussi-Modeste at the time.

The film is part of the movement for teachers' freedom of speech in the face of the feeling of abandonment by their hierarchy.

The working title was originally Cueillez votre jeunesse in 2021, and it was later changed to La Plainte in 2022. It was shot under the title Pas de Vague in 2022, before being renamed again as Pas de Vagues in July 2023.

François Civil was announced in the lead role on 20 May 2022. On 11 July 2022, it was reported that the project was granted an advance on receipts by the CNC.

The Good Teacher was co-produced by France's Kazak Productions and Belgium's Frakas Productions. The score was composed by Jean-Benoît Dunckel. International sales are handled by the Paris-based company Indie Sales. The first image from the film was unveiled on 9 May 2023. The film was introduced to buyers at the 2023 Cannes Film Market with an exclusive promo-reel.

Filming
Principal photography began in Paris on 9 November 2022 and wrapped on 10 December 2022.

Release
The Good Teacher had its world premiere at the Ramdam Festival in Tournai, Belgium on 18 January 2024. The film was originally set to be released theatrically in France by Ad Vitam in the fall of 2023, but the release date was pushed back to 27 March 2024. It was released in Belgium by Cinéart on 3 April 2024.

Critical response
AlloCiné, a French cinema site, gave the film an average rating of 3.4/5, based on a survey of 25 French reviews.

Box office
As of June 2024, the film has sold over 410.000 tickets in France and has grossed $3.1 million.