MR BACHMANN AND HIS CLASS (Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse) won the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the 71st Berlinale. The documentary directed by Maria Speth bowed for its world premiere at the Festival to excellent reviews.

Jury statement:
“In a film, you can draw attention to deep problems by sticking your finger into the wound or showing hope and giving inspiration as how to achieve a positive change. The latter is the strategy that the director of this tenderly powerful documentary chose to follow. Always keeping the right distance, the film focuses on one of those ‘field workers’ of our society who defines the most formative years of our children, influencing deeply their attitude towards life. As seen through the eyes of the director, this teacher is unique: he reshapes, softens, and makes more human, and through that humanity makes much more efficient a system in crisis - our European educational system. The film shows how far you can go simply with true respect, sincere communication, and with that magic all great teachers possess: sparking the fire of passion in their students by activating their fantasy”.

Official 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.

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