The Teachers' Lounge (M)

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Film, The Teachers' Lounge is scintillating drama about the power dynamics in a school system where every decision feels like a mistake.

Carla Nowak is a dedicated, idealistic young teacher in her first job at a German school. Her relationship with her seventh-grade students is put under stress when a series of thefts occur, and a staff investigation leads to accusations and mistrust among outraged parents, opinionated colleagues, and angry students. Caught in the middle of these complex dynamics, Carla tries to mediate—but the more she tries to do everything right, the closer she gets to breaking point.

Cast: Leonie Benesch, Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer

Director: Ilker Catak

★★★★½ "A relentlessly tense and profoundly sharp societal allegory powered by a crackerjack script and phenomenal acting" FLICKERING MYTH

★★★★ "Thrums from start to almost finish with the sweaty tension of a looming maths test." EYE FOR FILM

★★★★ "a chalk-snappingly tense watch" DAILY TELEGRAPH UK

★★★★ "this is a far more worthwhile drama about the true grit required to succeed in this toughest of occupations" SCOTSMAN

★★★★ "A successful, realistic and very murky exercise in diabolical pedagogy." EL MUNDO