Mr Bachmann and His Class

Theatrical release September 16, 2021.

Synopsis

MR. BACHMANN AND HIS CLASS is an intimate documentary portraying the bond between an elementary school teacher and his students. His unconventional methods clash with the complex social and cultural realities of the provincial German industrial town they live in.

Where does one feel at home? In Stadtallendorf, a German city with a complex history of both excluding and integrating foreigners, genial teacher Dieter Bachmann offers his pupils the key to at least feeling as if they are at home. Aged between twelve and fourteen, these pupils come from twelve different nations; some have not quite mastered the German language. On the brink of retirement, Bachmann is eager to inspire these citizens-in-the-making with a sense of curiosity for a wide range of crafts, subjects, cultures and opinions. Watching this absorbing, sensitive documentary, one is overwhelmed with the realisation that, if only all children were blessed with such emotionally intelligent, ever-patient educators, conflict would be mitigated via discussion and John Lennon’s “Imagine” could be our reality. Those who, like filmmaker Maria Speth and her cinematographer Reinhold Vorschneider, are able to recognise and highlight so beautifully not only the importance of education but also what a quietly spectacular process it can be, are heroes in their own right, too.

Festivals/Awards

2021
SILVER BAER — 71 Berlinale
BEST DOCUMENTARY #lola21 — Deutscher Filmpreis
nominated for VFF Documentary Film Production Award — 36 DOK.fest Munich

CPH:DOX
15. Fünf Seen Filmfestival
18 dokumentarfilmwoche hamburg
VIENNALE
34 IDFA Masters
Duisburger Filmwoche
DOC NYC
Hong Kong IFF

2022
SI STAR Sonderpreis [Soroptimist International]
German Documentary Award

Mr Bachmann and His Class

Mr Bachmann and His Class

Mr Bachmann and His Class

Mr Bachmann and His Class

Mr Bachmann and His Class