Movie
“The teacher’s room” is a German Oscar contribution
Director and screenwriter Ilker Catak at the German Film Awards ceremony with the award for best director for “The Teacher’s Room”. photo
© Hannes P. Albert/dpa
With “Nothing New in the West” a German film was the surprise success of this year’s Oscars. Now the next German Oscar candidate has been chosen, who has to follow in big footsteps.
“With “The Teacher’s Room” the jury has nominated a highly topical, universal film that you can’t resist,” the jury’s statement said. “Ilker Çatak takes the microcosm of school as a stage for social erosion processes in the post-factual age.”
After the success of “Nothing New in the West” several films had applied as a German entry for the next Oscars – including Wim Wenders’ film “Anselm – The Noise of Time”, “Sisi & Me” by Frauke Finsterwalder, “Wochendrebellen” by Marc Rothemund and “Red Sky” by Christian Petzold.
“The Teacher’s Room” is now following in big footsteps: In spring, the German literary adaptation “Nothing New in the West” by director Edward Berger not only won the Oscar for best international film, but also three more for camera, set design and film music.
The road to the Oscars is long
The choice of the German contribution is only a preliminary stage in the race for the foreign Oscar. The shortlist of international applicants will be announced later. The five nominated films are then selected from this shortlist. The Oscars ceremony will then take place on March 10, 2024.
Only four German productions won the award for the best international (non-English language) film. Prior to “Nothing New in the West”, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was the last to do so in 2007 with the Stasi drama “The Lives of Others”. In 1980 the film adaptation of the novel “The Tin Drum” by Volker Schlöndorff received this award, in 2003 “Nowhere in Africa” by Caroline Link.
“We are deeply grateful for this opportunity and are very happy. At the same time, we are very aware of the responsibility to represent German film on the international stage,” said director Çatak and producer Ingo Fliess after the decision.