THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE
Carla (Leonie Benesch) delights in teaching her sixth-graders about universal truths that can untangle even the trickiest problems. Unfortunately, the laws that govern human behavior are not so easy to decode, as Carla learns the hard way in this ruthlessly gripping drama. A few months into a new job, Carla has developed a warm rapport with her pupils, even if she has some disagreements with her fellow educators. Specifically, she takes issue with the methods the school has adopted to root out a serial thief by encouraging students to narc on one another. Nursing her own suspicions but unwilling to stoop to her co-workers’ dubious methods, Carla begins investigating on her own, with disastrous results. A snowballing chain of events throws the school into turmoil, and with each misstep, Carla begins to lose faith not just in her colleagues’ moral judgment, but in her own. A critical and audience favorite at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE immerses viewers in a tightly wound environment that acts as a microcosm of society’s ills.
CAST: Leonie Benesch, Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer
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