Mr. Bachmann and His Class

Where does one feel at home? In Stadtallendorf, a German city with a complex history of both excluding and integrating foreigners, genial teacher Dieter Bachmann offers his pupils the key to at least feeling as if they are at home. Aged between twelve and fourteen, these pupils come from twelve different nations; some have not quite mastered the German language. On the brink of retirement, Bachmann is eager to inspire these citizens-in-the-making with a sense of curiosity for a wide range of crafts, subjects, cultures and opinions.

Screening as part of the BAMPFA Documentary Voices series, organized by Deniz Göktürk and Kathy Geritz and presented in conjunction with Göktürk’s UC Berkeley course on documentary film.