Back to School

Far from the cliché dramas about inspired teachers in "difficult" schools, Maria Speth's documentary is a rare cinematic record, a much-needed documentation of the educational process in Europe's diverse contemporary reality. — Dieter Bachmann is the teacher of class 6B of the introductory year for the high school in Stadlendorf, a city of immigrants, whose children he prepares for the German reality away from strict academic guidelines. — Jury Prize | Berlin Film Festival | 2021 Audience Award | Berlin Film Festival | 2021

Can a film about education move you to tears? Of course it can, as is evidenced in this award-winning documentary about a school year, that was beloved by audiences in France and is sure to speak to the hearts of all. The young students in the class steal the show. — In rural France, schoolteacher Georges Lopez educates 12 children, whose ages range from 4 to 11 years old. Over the course of a year, the soon-to-retire Lopez instructs them all in one small classroom with the traditional tools of French teaching: rote repetition and the dictation of literary passages for copying. As the seasons pass, Lopez must keep his students disciplined while preparing the older children for the exams that will determine their educational future. — Best Editing | César Awards | 2003 Nominated for Best Film not in the English Language | BAFTA Awards | 2004 Best Documentary Award | Valladolid International Film Festival | 2002

A moving exploration of friendship and companionship as a lifeline through trauma, crystallized in one of the most tender cinematic moments of the 2010s. From that moment on, David Bowie’s “Heroes” becomes inseparable from a scene that left a lasting mark on pop culture. — An introverted fifteen-year-old who has recently lost his only friend finds solace in the company of two older classmates, Sam and Patrick. — Best First Feature | Film Independent Spirit Awards | 2013

From “The People Vs. Fritz Bauer” and the guilt over the crimes of the Third Reich, director Lars Kraume shifts his focus to East Germany and a true story of rights infringement from an utterly different ideological starting point, thus creating a balanced dyad of historical memory. — A group of twelfth-grade pupils decide to show their solidarity with the victims of the 1956 Hungarian uprising by staging two minutes of silence during lessons. Based on real events and the memoirs of Dietrich Garstka. — Audience Award | Berkshire International Film Festival | 2019

The film the Coen brothers made after the Oscar triumph of No Country for the Old Men is a misunderstood upon its release, a personal film as only the two of them know how to make it: Sinister spirits, hidden conspiracies and an existential black humor. — Larry Gopnik is a physics professor at a 1960s university, but his life is falling apart. His wife is leaving him, his unemployed brother has moved away and someone is trying to sabotage his career goals. Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis, but whether any of them can help him overcome his many woes remains to be seen. — Nomination for Best Film | Oscars | 2010 Nomination for Best Screenplay | Oscars 2010 Nomination for Best Actor (Michael Sthulbarg) | Golden Globes | 2010

Hard and uncomfortable truths in an unconventional schoolroom drama, as well as a study of power relations and how they eventually erode. A riveting drama that stood out at the Berlin Festival’s Panorama thanks to its in-depth glance. — A new math teacher gets off to a good start in her new job, idealistically believing that she can motivate teenagers. But a series of thefts on the school grounds quickly casts suspicions on one of her students. The teacher indignantly tries to get to the truth herself, but the case is more complicated than it seemed at first and causes a series of consequences. — Europa Cinemas Award - Panorama | Berlin Film Festival | 2023 C.I.C.A.E. Award - Panorama | Berlin Film Festival | 2023

Is there anything more innocent, yet terrifying, than the first day at a new school for a 7-year-old? Game and punishment, laughter and fear, the painful and necessary need of belonging and the difficult condition of school bullying, through the eyes (and height) of children. — When Nora sees Abel being bullied by other kids, she rushes to protect him. But Abel asks her not to say anything to anyone. Caught between the world of adults and the world of children, Nora tries to find her place. — FIPRESCI Prize - Un Certain Regard | Cannes Film Festival | 2021 Special Award for the Promotion of Gender Equality | Sarajevo Film Festival | 2021

A well-deserved Palme d'Or at Cannes 2008 for one of the most important and powerful films ever made about the complexities of the education system and the daily challenges faced by teachers and students amid social and cultural inequalities. — A teacher at a multicultural school in Paris faces the challenge of managing a classroom full of students from diverse social and ethnic backgrounds. — Palme d'Or | Cannes Film Festival | 2008 Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film | Oscars | 2009 Best Adapted Screenplay | César Awards | 2009 Best Foreign Film | Film Independent Spirit Awards | 2009 Best Film Award | Lumiere Awards | 2009

A tender drama that draws striking parallels between its two central characters while portraying Maria Montessori as a determined pioneer who challenged the prejudices and patriarchal conventions of her time in order to secure a better future for children. — In Paris at the turn of the twentieth century, a courtesan raises her daughter on her own. Fearing that the girl's learning difficulties will limit her future, she travels to Rome, where she meets Maria Montessori, whose groundbreaking educational method may offer the child a better chance in life.

A teacher stands against a ruthless educational system armed with the most priceless ally of all: music. One of the great successes of 2000s French cinema, nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Song. — Pierre, a celebrated orchestra conductor, returns home following his mother’s death. By chance, he discovers an old diary and is transported back to his childhood memories of school and his music teacher, Clément Mathieu. — Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year | Oscars | 2005 Nominated for Best Original Song | Oscars | 2005 Nominated for Best Film not in the English Language | BAFTA | 2005 Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film | Golden Globes | 2005 Official Selection | Karlovy Vary IFF | 2004 Best Music Written for a Film | César Awards | 2005 Best Sound | César Awards | 2005 Official Selection | CAMERIMAGE | 2004

Truffaut created a film that wasn’t just a breakthrough in the context of the Nouvelle Vague, but a real milestone in the history of cinema. It explores the cruelty of youth and administers “blows” of pure cinema exhilaration that leave you wanting more. — We meet Antoine Doinel for the first time, an unruly boy growing up in Paris in 1950, playing truant and stealing. His teacher torments him and his family doesn’t understand him. After getting arrested, he spends a night in a cell. The court decides to send him to a juvenile reformatory, where a psychologist assesses the reasons why he is unhappy. One day, during football practice, Antoine escapes by jumping over the fence; he runs to the ocean, a place he always wanted to visit. — Official Selection | Cannes Film Festival | 1959 Best Director | Cannes Film Festival | 1959 OCIC Award | Cannes Film Festival | 1959

Winner of the Grand Prize at Sundance this film stands as one of the most iconic works of 90s independent American cinema. A fearless and darkly humorous exploration of adolescence, rich with honesty and sardonic sarcasm. — An awkward and marginalized 11-year-old girl struggles to survive the harsh world of middle school as she confronts bullying, family indifference, and the sting of her first romantic disappointments. — Grand Jury Prize | Sundance Film Festival | 1996 CICAE Award | Berlin Film Festival | 1996 Best Debut Performance (Heather Matarazzo) | Film Independent Spirit Awards | 1997