The Berlinale-to-TIFF drama THE TEACHERS‘ LOUNGE by Ilker Çatak will enter the race for Germany to the 96th Oscars® in the “Best International Feature Film“ category. THE TEACHERS‘ LOUNGE is an electrifying work about the microcosm of a school as a societal mirror. The film celebrated its world premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival 2023, generating both national and international attention immediately. Çatak has already had experience with winning at the Oscars®: His graduation film SADAKAT (FIDELITY) won the Student Academy Award® in Gold for "Best Foreign Film" in 2015.
Independent jury spokesperson Torsten Koch of the German Distributors Association commented on the choice:
"With THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE, the jury has chosen
a highly topical, universal feature film that is impossible to resist.
Çatak takes the microcosm of a school as the setting for social processes of erosion in the post-factual age. Çatak is masterful in the way he stages his precisely written story as a breakdown in understanding. Lead actress Leonie Benesch delivers a breathtaking performance as an idealist who, in trying to do everything right, comes under increasing pressure – intensified by the clever decision to adopt the unusual 4:3 format. THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE is supported by the outstanding casting and superb performances of its diverse ensemble."
Director Ilker Çatak and producer Ingo Fliess reacted:
"The nomination of our film for the Best International Feature Film Oscar® is a special honour and recognition of our work as well as of the creative passion of all involved. At the same time, however, we are very aware of the responsibility involved in representing German film on the international stage. We see our film as being both an individual work as well as a contribution to our nation’s cultural identity. We will show full commitment to living up to this responsibility.“
The drama THE TEACHERS‘ LOUNGE centres on Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch), a young and dedicated sports and math teacher who starts her first job full of idealism. But then a series of thefts occur at her school. When a Turkish-German student is accused of thieving, Carla decides to get to the bottom of the matter, but she faces a dilemma: the prime suspect, the school’s secretary, is the mother of her most talented pupil, Oskar. The forces Carla has unleashed slide out of control to the point where Oskar contacts the school newspaper to publicize his mother’s point of view – which then sparks a heated debate about truth and justice. Carla tries to mediate between outraged parents, opinionated colleagues and aggressive students, but is mercilessly confronted in the process by the structures of the school system. The more she desperately tries to do everything right, the more the young teacher is on the verge of falling apart.
Sony Pictures Classics has already bought the film for North and Latin America as well as for Eastern Europe.
THE TEACHERS‘ LOUNGE is about to be shown at international festivals in Toronto, Haifa, Busan, Gent and Valladolid, among others. The film has won several awards, including five at the German Film Awards with the Lola in Gold for Best Feature Film, as well as the Europa Cinemas Label at the Berlinale for Best European Film in the Panorama section and the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award. THE TEACHERS‘ LOUNGE has been shortlisted for the European Film Award.
THE TEACHERS‘ LOUNGE was produced by if...Productions Film in co-production with ZDF and ARTE and supported by BKM, MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein as well as the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) and the German Federal Film Board (FFA).
source: German Films
image: © if… Productions Film
