The Teachers’ Lounge Wins Inaugural LaAm Critics’ Award

İlker Çatak’s German schoolhouse thriller The Teachers’ Lounge has won the inaugural Latin American Critics’ Award for European Films. The award was announced on Sunday, June 9th at the Guadalajara International Film Festival in Mexico.

Leonie Benesch stars as a young idealistic teacher who gets caught up in a web of internal intrigue in Çatak’s taut drama. The Teachers’ Lounge premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last year and was an award-season success, taking best film at the German film awards and picking up an Oscar nomination for best international feature.

“It’s a great honor and pleasure to have received this award,” said Çatak in a statement. “I hope the film hits theatres very soon in Latin America. Lots of love to you and for cinema!”

33 film critics from 13 Latin American countries selected The Teachers’ Lounge from 23 nominated European films put forward by European Film Promotion, which set up the new LatAm Critics’ Award in an effort to boost the visibility of acclaimed European films in the Central and South American markets.

Guadalajara festival director Estrella Araiza said the award represented a synergy connecting “the Latin American perspective with European stories and modes of filmmaking, representing an enriching dialogue between two regions.”