A Teacher

Hannah Fidell
USA 2013

»A short, sharp burst of concentrated character-based storytelling that builds considerable emotional intensity.«

The Hollywood Reporter

 

Diana is a young high-school teacher in an old Texas town. On the surface, her life appears as pretty and quiet as she is herself: she is well-liked in her school by both staff and students and shares a flat with a roommate, Sophia, whose only concern is that Diana’s too-quiet single life needs a little more, well - life. Especially as her only companion seems to be her lonely iPhone. One evening on a rare girls' night out, Diana gets a text from someone named Eric, and although Sophie quizzes her, the shy teacher remains silent. After all, it involves the confidentiality of a teacher-student relationship. But Diana is no typical teacher. And Eric no typical student. And theirs is no typical relationship. Eric likes her more than anyone suspects. And she likes Eric even more. In fact, too much. Way too much. And behind the scenes and beneath the sheets, there is nothing shy about her obsessive lust for the boy as their illicit affair reaches dangerous and dizzying heights. But what’s a simple »Score« for a teenage kid is a lifeline for Diana, for whom he fills a deep void. And the struggles of her real adult life are what drive her to keep the relationship going at any cost. Her void is about to be deepened. Her cost will be high. Lindsay Burdge is extraordinary in Fidell’s equally extraordinary directorial debut. Flying colors.

Producer
Kim Sherman
Cinematographer
Andre Droz Palermo
Editor
Sofi Marshall
Screenwriter
Hannah Fidell
Cast
Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain
Runtime/Version
77 min, OV
IMG 9345B

Hannah Fidell

In 2012, Filmmaker Magazine named the Brooklyn-based writer/director/producer as one of the »25 New Faces of Independent Film« on their annual list. In 2013, her debut feature »A Teacher« – inspired by a kid she once waited on & Lee Moses song - held its world premiere at Sundance, and went on to SXSW where she won Best Female Director.