Languages Archives: German

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A woman with ginger hair, wearing a red sweater, yells while standing in a classroom.

The Teachers’ Lounge Das Lehrerzimmer

  İlker Çatak

  Germany     94 minutes

Synopsis

When Carla Nowak, a dedicated sports and math teacher, starts her first job at a high school, she stands out for her idealism. Then, one of her students is suspected in a series of thefts at the school, and Carla decides to investigate the matter on her own. Carla tries to mediate between outraged parents, opinionated colleagues and aggressive students, but is relentlessly confronted with the rigid structures of the school system. The more desperately she tries to do everything right, the more the young teacher threatens to break.

This gripping drama about conformity, racism, and rebellion — Germany’s entry into the Oscars — is an incisive look at the rapidly shifting power dynamics and complex search for truth in contemporary society.

 English, German, Polish, Turkish with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Film Credits

  •   Ingo Fliess
  •   İlker Çatak, Johannes Duncker
  •   Gesa Jäger
  •   Judith Kaufmann
  •   Leonie Benesch, Michael Klammer, Rafael Stachoviak, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Eva Löbau, Kathriin Wehlisch, Sarah Bauerett, Leo Stettnisch, Oscar Zickur, Antonia Küpper, Elsa Krieger, Vincent Stachowiak, Can Rodenbostel, Padmé Hamdemir, Lisa Marie Transe
  •   Marvin Miller
  •   if...Productions

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Black and white image of men at table, cigarette smoke curling around them. An older man stands behind the table, watching.

The Universal Theory Die Theorie Von Allem

  Timm Kröger

  Germany, Austria, Switzerland     118 minutes

Synopsis

Not content to let Oppenheimer ask all of the big questions, German director Timm Kröger combines old Hollywood style with heady metaphysical substance in the intellectual thriller The Universal Theory. Set in 1962 at a quantum mechanics conference in an isolated lodge nestled amid the towering landscapes of the Swiss Alps, The Universal Theory is the story of a gifted young physicist, his curmudgeonly mentor, and an enigmatic jazz pianist who knows things about our wunderkind scientist that he’s never told another living soul.

Driven by mind-bending twists, improbable coincidences, and Hitchcockian suspense, The Universal Theory is a captivating nesting doll of a film that nods to the German masters of old Hollywood and considers the metaverse theory from a refreshingly intelligent point of view. Kröger — himself also a cinematographer — films his tale with an eye for the majestic natural beauty that surrounds our characters, effectively evoking both the paranoid postwar era and the brain-tickling complexity of theoretical physics.

 French, German, Swiss-German with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Film Credits

  •   Heino Deckert, Tina Börner, Viktoria Stolpe, Timm Kröger, Lixi Frank, David Bohun, Sarah Born, Rajko Jazbec, Dario Schoch
  •   Roderick Warich, Timm Kröger
  •   Jann Anderegg
  •   Roland Stuprich
  •   Jan Bülow, Olivia Ross, Hanns Zischler, Gottfried Breitfuss, David Bennent, Philippe Graber
  •   Diego Ramos Rodríguez
  •   Ma.ja.de Fiction, The Barricades, Panama Film, Catpics

Sponsors

International Competition Program Sponsor

John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation

Film Supporter

Logo: German Film Office 141x125

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An idilic scene of a forest and a lake. A family lounges on the shore nearby, while some swim.

The Zone of Interest

  Jonathan Glazer

  United Kingdom, Poland, United States     105 minutes

Synopsis

The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house next to the camp. The two play host to all manner of guests, tend to a lavish garden, and take in the surrounding natural beauty, all the while the horrors of the Holocaust rage just beyond their garden wall. As the war nears its end, Hedwig refuses to abandon her “idyllic” homelife, while her husband works to further distinguish himself among the Nazi rank-and-file, both existing in a state of moral squalor and permanent denial.

Scathing, incisive, and unforgettable, The Zone of Interest is a masterpiece of the medium. Crafted with exacting precision by visionary director Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin), the film poses timely questions and uncovers uncomfortable truths about the banality of evil and humanity’s capacity for willful ignorance.

 German with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   James Wilson, Ewa Puszczyńska
  •   Jonathan Glazer
  •   Paul Watts
  •   Łukasz Żal
  •   Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller
  •   Mica Levi

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Two men speak to each other. Framed behind them is a large mirrored structure, reflecting trees and buildings.

Depot – Reflecting Boijmans

  Sonia Herman Dolz

  Netherlands     86 minutes

Synopsis

In 2019, Rotterdam’s famed Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen shuttered for renovations, making way for a radical new shimmering art mecca just down the street. Called the Depot, this ambitious construction — composed of walls of curved mirrored glass — was a shared dream of architect Winy Maas and irreverent museum director Sjarel Ex. It reimagines art exhibition as a gigantic, glorified storage unit, with all of its treasures on view for everyone to see.

With a playful approach that even includes musical numbers, ChicagoIFF alumnus Sonia Herman Dolz (The Master and His Pupil, Yo soy así) tracks these two ambitious and passionate visionaries as they work together to break down the old museum, construct the new one, and delicately transport precious masterpieces into their new home. A captivating portrait of both institutions from the inside out, Depot is a glorious ode to both art and architecture.

A pandel discussion will follow the October 12th screening.

 Dutch, English, German with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Sonia Herman Dolz
  •   Sonia Herman Dolz
  •   Rémi van der Heiden, Sonia Herman Dolz
  •   Paul van den Bos, Stef Tijdink, Ruben Hamelink, Marco Nauta, Arne Verbrugh, Manó Szollosi, Sonia Herman Dolz
  •   Sjarel Ex, Winy Maas, Pipilotti Rist
  •   Paul M. van Brugge
  •   Sonia Herman Dolz
  •   Sonia Herman Dolz - Audiovisual

Sponsors

Documentary Program Sponsors

Logo: WTTW (2019)Cynthia Stone Raskin

Film Supporters

Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation • Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson

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A man lies in the snow, blood pooling behind his head. Two people stand nearby, embracing eachother, one holds a phone.

Anatomy of a Fall Anatomie d’une chute

  Justine Triet

  France     152 minutes

Synopsis

Married writers Sandra and Samuel live in an idyllic mountain chalet in the snow-covered French Alps with their visually impaired son Daniel. When Samuel’s body is found lying bloodied in the snow, the initial presumption is suicide. As the investigation proceeds, the police begin to suspect foul play. The evidence mounts, and Sandra is brought to trial. Could she have committed such a crime?

Featuring an electrifying lead performance from the mesmerizing Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall trains a microscope on one couple’s troubled relationship while posing questions about the legal system’s ability to interpret the nuances of life and the complexities of marriage. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Justine Triet’s tension-filled opus is a bracing, Hitchcockian showstopper.

 English, French, German with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Marie-Ange Luciani, David Thion
  •   Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
  •   Laurent Sénéchal
  •   Simon Beaufils
  •   Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner
  •   Les Films Pelléas, Les Films de Pierre