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Running time – 99 minutes

Seating: Allocated - See Seating Plan for More Details

In German with English subtitles

Best International Feature Film Academy Award nominee

The Teachers’ Lounge is German writer-director İlker Çatak’s brilliantly observed drama. Playing out like a thriller, the film expertly explores the fault lines of contemporary society.

Carla Nowak is a dedicated and idealistic new high-school teacher. A fresh face at the school, she seems to have connected with her Year 8 students, who are engaged and eager to learn in her maths class. But something is bubbling underneath the surface, and she’s quickly thrust into a delicate situation when a Turkish boy is suspected of theft.

Image of a white Turkish child with short brown curly hair. Wearing a dark blue hoodie sat at a desk with his arms crossed resting his head on his hands.

Not convinced of his guilt, Carla takes matters into her own hands and inadvertently starts down a path that soon begins to spiral out of control. As she tries to mediate between students, parents and opinionated colleagues, she is relentlessly confronted with the structures of the school system. Carla is pushed to her limits, and the school becomes a proxy for the cultural and ethical clashes of modern-day society.

A white female who is a teacher stood in front of a chalk board. She is wearing a dark red top and her expression is screaming.

Catak’s film is an incisive study in power dynamics that demonstrates how individuals are worn down by opposing beliefs, as the adage goes, ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’.

‘a masterclass in playground politics’ – ★★★★ The Guardian

‘Sharply written and psychologically arresting’ – ★ Screen Rant

‘the hunt for a bad apple leads to chaos in this jittery classroom thriller’ – BFI

Director – İlker Çatak

Cast – Leonie Benesch, Sarah Bauerett, Michael Klammer

  • Information about screenings with subtitles

    Subtitled screenings offer captions which transcribe dialogue only. Subtitled screenings attempt to give D/deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers an understanding of the spoken dialogue within the film, but do not include description about other aspects of the soundtrack, including music and sound effects.

  • Seating accessibility information

    Cinema

    Seat size

    Seats in the Cinema are 45cm (172/3“) wide and 46cm (18“) deep, are 40cm (152/3“) from the floor, and have 12cm (42/3“) between seats.

    Armrests

    Seats in the Cinema have armrests that do not fold away, and cannot be completely removed.

    Legroom

    Seats in the cinema have 30cm (112/3”) of legroom in front of seats, with additional legroom on row A and seats B1-B4 and B11-B14.

    Further information

    If you have any questions about accessibility our Box Office team are always happy to help and can be contacted on 01642 525199 or by emailing [email protected] - you can also tell us about your access requirements when prompted to do so during the online booking process.

  • BBFC rating information (may contain spoilers)

    Violence

    A boy hits his teacher’s face using a laptop, after which she has a small bruise. In another scene two school boys push each other around before a teacher breaks up their fight.

    Language

    The film features infrequent strong language (‘f**k’) and uses of ‘ass’, ‘crap’, and ‘God’. There is also a rude middle finger gesture.

    Discrimination

    Teachers are accused of racism when they target a Turkish boy, blaming him for a theft; however, discrimination is clearly condemned by the other characters.

    Drugs

    A child jokes to her teacher that she’s planning to ‘cook heroin’ when she is asked why she has a lighter in a comic scene.

    Theme

    A woman has an anxiety attack and is shown briefly hallucinating as her mental health declines. There are also scenes in which school children bully their classmates.