The Forest for the Trees (Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen)

Dir. Maren Ade. Germany. 2003, 81 mins. 35mm. With Eva Lobau, Daniela Holtz. In German with English subtitles. The impressive debut film by Maren Ade (Toni Erdmann) is about Melanie Pröschle, an awkward and idealistic young teacher from the countryside, who starts her first job at a high school in the city. Although she wants to be a “fresh breeze” at the school, she finds that it is not easy to start a new life, as she copes with loneliness, the inertia of established teachers, and the whims of ninth-grade students. Preceded by House Arrest (Dir. Matthias Sahli, Switzerland, 2015, Switzerland, 13 mins.)