“We are overwhelmed and overjoyed! Being nominated for the most famous film award in the world feels like a dream. Thanks to all our partners and supporters along the way (first and foremost, Sony Pictures Classics, Alamode, ZDF and arte, MOIN Filmförderung, BKM and German Films), but, above all, to our entire team who have worked tirelessly over the last few weeks to achieve this success.
Being a teacher is a profession where you assum responsibility for a future generation. The question is whether the adults of tomorrow will have experienced personal development and fairness or just academic pressure and obedience? We pay tribute to the people who take up this profession and hope that this nomination will contribute to more visibility for their work!”, director Ilker Çatak and producer Ingo Fliess declared after the nomination was announced.
THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE has now also cleared the nomination hurdle after having already been shortlisted in December as one of the final 15 films from those submitted from 88 countries around the world that had considered eligible by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Together with the films IO CAPITANO (Italy), PERFECT DAYS (Japan), THE ZONE OF INTEREST (United Kingdom) and SOCIETY OF THE SNOW (Spain), THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE will now be competing for the Oscar® in the Best International Feature Film category at the ceremony for the Academy Awards® in Los Angeles on 10 March.
In August 2023, the social drama THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE, directed by İlker Çatak and produced by if…productions with Ingo Fliess as producer, was selected by an independent jury from 13 German productions as the German entry for the Oscars®. Last year, the submission from Germany, the war drama ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT by Edward Berger, made it to the final list of five nominees and then went on to not only win the Oscar® in the Best International Feature Film category, but also picked up another three statuettes (Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Production Design).
“We are delighted that the German entry is again one of the nominations in the Best Foreign Language Film category. This is a special recognition and shows that German films are generating a lot of interest on an international level. THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE is evidently touching a nerve by presenting the microcosm of a school as the arena for social discussions and differences. The film has been sold to territories all over the world with just a few exceptions. Congratulations to all the team of THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE!”, says Simone Baumann, Managing Director of German Films.
The last 25 years have seen German films picking up a total of ten Oscar® nominations in this category: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT by Edward Berger (2023), NEVER LOOK AWAY by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2018), TONI ERDMANN by Maren Ade (2016), THE WHITE RIBBON by Michael Haneke (2009), THE BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX by Oliver Hirschbiegel (2008), THE LIVES OF OTHERS by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2006), SOPHIE SCHOLL – THE FINAL DAYS by Marc Rothemund (2005), DOWNFALL by Oliver Hirschbiegel (2004) and Caroline Link with her two films NOWHERE IN AFRICA (2002) and BEYOND SILENCE (1997).
The coveted Oscar® statuette went to Germany on three occasions during this period: to ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT by Edward Berger in 2023, NOWHERE IN AFRICA by Caroline Link in 2002, and to THE LIVES OF OTHERS by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck in 2006.
About the film:
The drama THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE centres on Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch), a young and dedicated sports and maths teacher who has taken up her first post at a grammar school. Her idealism makes her stand out among her new colleagues. When there are a series of thefts at the school and one of her pupils comes under suspicion, Carla decides to get to the bottom of the matter herself. 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 tries desperately to do everything right, the more the young teacher is on the verge of breaking apart.
THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE celebrated its world premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2023 in the Panorama section, generating both national and international attention.
Sony Pictures Classics had acquired the film for North and Latin America as well as Eastern Europe. THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE was also sold around the world by Be For Films to all territories except for South East Asia.
The film has also won numerous awards, including five German Film Awards – including the Lola for Best Feature Film – as well as the Europa Cinemas Label for Best European Film at the Berlinale in the Panorama section and the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award. Other awards included the Grand Prix du Jury at the 2023 Les Arcs Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize (Best Actress) for Leonie Benesch at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2024.
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).
The film PERFECT DAYS by the German director Wim Wenders was also nominated in the Best International Feature Film category, also the German co-production FOUR DAUGHTERS by Kaouther Ben Hania (FR/TN/SA/DE, Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion) was nominated in the Best Documentary Feature Film category.
The German actress Sandra Hüller received a nomination in the Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role category for ANATOMY OF A FALL.
Simone Baumann, German Films: “We would like to congratulate Wim Wenders on the nomination of his film PERFECT DAYS in the Best International Feature Film category. Special congratulations also due to Sandra Hüller for her nomination: Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. This is also a very special achievement for the entire German film industry. We are now keeping our fingers crossed for all the German participants and their films!”
The 96th Oscar® awards ceremony will be held on March 10, 2024, at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood.
Further information about the Oscars® can be found here.
