Evoking the keenest student's homework that has had notes scribbled in the margin, the recent key art for Ilker Çatak's provocative social thriller, The Teachers’ Lounge, sure has a lot of text on display. It has been a darling on the festival circuit, and is Germany’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Feature Academy Award.
The design itself shows the lead actress, Leonie Benesch, as if she is listening to something she cannot quite fathom, but has to keep a professional face about it. This is the movie in a nutshell. Besides, Benesch’s visage is such a perfect ‘canvas’ for expression. She gives off understated and magnificent vibes. Hers is best performance I have seen this year, in one of the best films I have seen this year.
The poster also gives a slight nod the classic Akiko Stehrenberger’s iconic design for Michael Haneke’s 2007 remake of Funny Games. This is fitting in and of itself, as Benesch was one of the lead actors in Haneke’s The White Ribbon, another complex and disturbing social parable about the darker side of social constructs.
