Sala de profesores (The Teachers’ Lounge), a film nominated and submitted by Germany for an Oscar in the Best International Film category, opens in cinemas today.
Directed by Ilker Çatak and starring Leonie Benesch, The Teachers’ Lounge won 5 awards at the German Film Awards (Lolas) and took the top prizes: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Editing. The film is also nominated for the Goya Awards in the category of Best European Film.
Based on the real-life experiences of Çatak and co-writer Johannes Duncker, who went to the same school in Istanbul, Teachers’ Lounge is an exciting school drama with the pace and tone of a thriller also starring Eva Löbau and Leonard Stettnisch.
The film tells the story of how Carla Nowak, an idealistic teacher, starts her first job at a secondary school. When a series of thefts occurs at the school and one of the pupils is suspected, she decides to get to the bottom of the matter on her own. Carla tries to mediate between outraged parents, stubborn colleagues and aggressive students, but is confronted by the implacable structures of the school system.
