new wave films
Mr Bachmann and his Class
A film by Maria Speth
Synopsis
Mr Bachmann is a 64-year-old comprehensive school teacher for class 6b at Georg-Büchner-Gesamtschule in Stadtallendorf, North Hesse. The class comprises a group of 12 – 14-year old students from nine different countries with varying levels of aptitude. The multiculturalism the children experience causes mild clashes due to largely religious, linguistic and ethical differences. The group is aware of societal pressure to achieve and they grapple with emotions ranging from pride to arrogance or anxiety. Mr Bachmann is determined to prove each child’s value and ensure they are equipped for high school. They are simultaneously trying to balance their individualism with their national identity. The school has a big responsibility to eradicate exclusion and marginalization, whilst being sensitive to the divides along cultural and academic lines. Mr Bachmann’s intimate, holistic and progressive approach to teaching elevates the bond between teacher and pupil and gives this story hope, yet, his unconventional methods are tested by the complexities of the social realities inherent in the provincial German industrial town.
217 min/Germany/German with English subtitles/2021/Cert. PG
World Premiere and Winner of the Silver Bear and Audience Award – Berlin International Film Festival
Where It's On
UK premiere 16th & 17th Oct 2021 London Film Festival, Leeds Film Festival: Nov 9 & 11 2021 Vue Leeds
Special Preview, Thu 30th Nov, 19:00, Goethe Institute
Week Commencing 27 November
Week Starting 9th December
| ICA Cinema | The Mall | London SW1 5AH | 020 7930 3647 | 9-11, 13, 15 Dec |
| Bertha Dochouse | The Brunswick | London WC1N 1AW | 0871 964 2838 | 11 & 14 Dec |
| Barbican Cinema | Beech St | London EC2Y 8DS | 020 7638 4141 | 10 & 11 Dec |
| Curzon Home Cinema | ||||
| BFI Player |
Week Commencing 20 November
Week Commencing 27 November
Week Starting 16th December
| Lexi Cinema | 194b Chamberlayne Rd | London NW10 3JU | 020 3011 5523 | 19 Dec only |
| Cine Lumiere | 17 Queensberry Place | London SW7 2DT | 020 7871 3515 | 20 & 22 Dec |
| ICA Cinema | The Mall | London SW1 5AH | 020 7930 3647 | dates tbd |
| Bertha Dochouse | The Brunswick | London WC1N 1AW | 0871 964 2838 | 16 & 21 Dec |
| Curzon Home Cinema | ||||
| BFI Player |
From 23rd December onwards
| Curzon Home Cinema | ||||
| BFI Player |
From 30th December onwards
| Watershed | 1 Canon's Rd | Bristol BS1 5TX | 0117 927 5100 | 3-5 Jan |
| Curzon Home Cinema | ||||
| BFI Player |
From 6th January onwards
| Warwick Arts Centre | University of Warwick | Coventry CV4 7AL | 024 7649 6000 | 7-9 Jan |
| Firstsite | Lewis Gardens | Colchester CO1 1JH | 01206 713700 | 13/16/19 Jan |
| Ultimate Picture Palace | Jeune St | Oxford OX4 1BN | 01865 245288 | 14 Jan |
| Depot | Pinwell Rd | Lewes BN7 2JS | 01273 525354 | 24 Jan |
| Curzon Home Cinema | ||||
| BFI Player |
Trailer
Director — Maria Speth
Maria Speth is a writer, director and producer of features and documentaries. Her graduate thesis film and debut feature THE DAYS BETWEEN premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2001, where it won the VPRO Tiger Award. It was also honoured with the Grand Jury Award at the Créteil International Women’s Film Festival and the MFG-Star Award for emerging directors in Germany in 2001. Her second feature MADONNAS (2007) won the Hessian Film Prize in 2007. The lead actress Sandra Hüller won the Silver Astor award for best actress at the Festival Internacional de Cine in Mar del Plata. In 2009, Maria founded Madonnen Film and produced her first documentary, 9 LIVES, which she wrote, directed and edited and for which she received the DEFA Foundation Award at the 2010 International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film. In 2011, she was awarded the Incentive Prize for Film and Media Arts from the Academy of Arts in Berlin. In 2012, Maria received the German Metropolis Award for best director of a documentary. Her feature, DAUGHTERS (2014), premiered at the Berlinale and was released theatrically in Germany. In 2015, Maria received script development funding from the German National Film Fund FFA for her project STADT ALLEN DORF that she shot as MR BACHMAN AND HIS CLASS until July 2017.
She is currently working on a feature film FOR KATE and ONE LIVES BECAUSE ONE IS BORN, both of which are supported with funds from the German Federal Government.
Filmography
TBC FOR KATE (feature)
TBC ONE LIVES BECAUSE ONE IS BORN
2021 MR BACHMANN AND HIS CLASS (documentary)
2014 DAUGHTERS (feature)
2010 9 LIVES (documentary
2007 MADONNAS (feature)
2001 THE DAYS BETWEEN (feature)
1999 BAREFOOT (short)
Cast & Credits
| Crew | |
| Director | Maria Speth |
| Script | Maria Speth, Reinhold Vorschneider |
| Director of Photography | Reinhold Vorschneider |
| Production Manager | Brigit Mulders |
| Original Sound | Oliver Göbel |
| Sound Mix | Adrian Baumeister |
| Sound Design | Niklas Kammertöns |
| Editor | Maria Speth |
| Producer | Maria Speth |
| Production Company | Madonnen Film GmbH |
| A MADONNEN FILM PRODUCTION WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF DIETER BACHMANN, AYNUR BAL, ÖNDER CAVDAR & THE STUDENTS FROM THE 6B & 6F. | |
| 217 min/Germany/German with English subtitles/2021/2.35:1 | |
| Cert PG | |
Images
Click any still to enlarge
The Critics
★★★★
"Beyond documenting the hard, at-the-coalface processes of schooling, the film also offers a celebration of European cultural diversity and puts paid to xenophobic tabloid sensationalism about how we should fear outsiders.
A stirring, unsentimental and immersive pleasure from end to end."
David Jenkins, Little White Lies
★★★★
Remarkable glimpse into a multicultural German school. Maria Speth's immersive technique is rewarding in it's own right...Even more impressive is the singular lack of sentimentality, which means when it draws tears at the end, they feel entirely well-earned."
Leslie Felperin, The Financial Times
★★★★
“Extraordinary documentary about a brilliant teacher. This is not just a celebration of one man, but of all teachers who go above and beyond for the children in their care."
Wendy Ide, The Observer
★★★★
"A soul-stirring epic of everyday education - Maria Speth’s documentary about a genial teacher shepherding a diverse group of pupils is a stunning lesson in film-making."Riveting and quietly passionate."
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
'Maria Speth’s enthralling documentary spends a year in the classroom of an unconventional teacher in a German industrial town.Gradually, a group portrait emerges that is also a remarkably detailed and complex picture of a town and a nation. And more than that: an intimate, humanist epic.This isn’t a heroic-teacher drama about idealism in the face of adversity. It’s an acknowledgment of the hard work of learning, and the magic of simple decency.'
A.O. Scott, The New York Times
“Unobtrusively patient, profoundly moving...Teacher Dieter Bachmann follows the curriculum and leads band sessions, but his life lessons are paramount in Maria Speth’s patient, intimate classroom documentary.”
Carmen Gray, Sight and Sound
★★★★
"A riveting experience."
Oliver Johnston, The Upcoming
★★★★
"An enlightening and immersive study of classroom mulitculturalism...shows just how challenging teaching can be."
Meredith Taylor, Filmuphoria
"Fascinating to watch..."
Rob Aldham, Backseat Mafia
"As melancholy as it is uplifting."
David Willoughby, The Crack
“… (a) rich vérité documentary reveals a diverse class of German teenagers in the midst of personal, social, and cultural complexities.”Daniel Kasman, MUBI Notebook
“This amazingly warm and clever documentary by Maria Speth about a sixth-grade schoolteacher deserves all the plaudits it can get.”
Ola Salwa, Cineuropa
“…(an)absorbing tribute to an inspired and inspiring schoolteacher in a multicultural school in middle Germany.”
Jessica Kiang, Variety
“Frederick Wiseman-Inspired Doc Is One of the Year’s Most Hopeful Movies”
“…this intimate portrait of a classroom for immigrant children in Germany is a profound statement about multiculturalism.”
“The movie's vérité approach may leave itself open to interpretation, but it's hard not to feel we're seeing the first rays of a better world about to dawn.”
Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire
“…one of the most effortlessly absorbing and deeply encouraging nonfiction films of recent memory.”
“Just might restore your faith in humanity.”
Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter
★★★★
“The documentary exists within the very restricted pantheon of films that successfully reap the cinematic potential of pedagogy.”Diego Semerene, Slant Magazine
“Anyone who teaches, or has ever been taught, will find something to relish in this serious-minded but quietly celebratory film.”
Jonathan Romney, Screen International
“Mr Bachmann and His Classis a Patiently Observed, Deeply Heartfelt Documentary”
Rory O’Connor, The Film Stage
Links
Download UK pressbook
Download photos (tiff)
Download photos (jpg)
Download international pressbook
Download quad poster jpg
Download Poster image upright
Interview with Maria Speth in The Hollywood Reporter
Women and Hollywood.com Interview with Maria Speth
Trailer on YouTube - link
Download mp4 of trailer
Trailer as Pro Res file - download
Clips
Bookings & Press
For film bookings please contact Colin Burch at Verve Pictures — [email protected]. Press resources are on the Press page.