The Teachers' Lounge Director Addresses Theories and That Ending

As part of Collider's FYC screening collaboration with Landmark Theatres, we got to spend an evening with German filmmaker Ilker Çatak to discuss his fifth feature, The Teachers' Lounge, now nominated for Best International Feature Film. The road to the Oscars wasn't an easy one, though. In fact, the co-writer and director tells Q&A host Steve Weintraub that he believed this could be his last film, citing his own vulnerabilities and self-assumed "mediocrity."

In The Teachers' Lounge, Leonie Benisch plays Carla Nowak, a dedicated first-time school teacher who displays a unique idealism among her peers and cultivates an easy rapport with her students. Ms. Nowak's relaxed approach to her job is upended when a series of thefts are pinned on one of her students (Leonard Stettnisch), leading to mistrust and accusations from faculty, parents, and students alike. This manhunt prompts Ms. Nowak to take matters into her own hands, but her investigation goes sideways and causes even more contention.

Check out the video above or the transcript below for the full Q&A where Çatak shares the film's journey from the Berlin International Film Festival to becoming a contender for the 2024 Academy Awards and standing alongside cinema idols like Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan. He talks about the choice to keep Carla Nowak's private life private, the challenges faced when directing a cast of children, and how the editing process transformed the film. He also addresses theories and comments from Letterboxd and shares details on his next project, Yellow Letters.

The Teachers' Lounge is in the running for Best International Feature Film this year against Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano (Italy), Wim Wender's Perfect Days (Japan), J.A. Bayona's Society of the Snow (Spain), and Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest (UK).

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