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Lesson Learned Fekete pont

Balint Szimler / Hungary / 2024 / 119 min / Hungarian

A film about different approaches to education – and the implications of these teaching systems for students and teachers.

cast Paul Mátis (Palkó), Anna Mészöly (Juci), Ákos 'Dadan' Kovács (Ákos), Inez Mátis (Hermina), Gábor Ferenczi (Kornél), Lökös Ildikó (Ildikó), László Nádasi Zoli), Eszter Márton (Eszter), Zsuzsanna Bruck (Zsuzsa), Gábor Dragon (ravnatelj/principal), Judit Gombos (Magdi)

festivals, awards Locarno 2024 (Best Performance and Special Mention in Filmmakers of the Present section)

IMDb

Ten-year-old Palkó has recently relocated from Germany to his home country of Hungary and is struggling to adapt to the strictly regulated school environment after being accustomed to a more easy-going educational approach. Used to speaking in class, eating whenever he likes, doing things at his own pace and resisting orders, he is quickly labelled as the “difficult kid”. Meanwhile, the new literature teacher Juci tries not only to comfort Palkó and gain his trust, but also to suggest a different approach to engaging the students, one that goes beyond merely following the curriculum. However, she remains as isolated as Palkó in her quiet rebellion.

"I grew up in the USA. When I was nine, we moved back home. For me, it was a culture shock to move back. It was 1996, which means there was an even bigger difference between the two countries back then. This whole topic stuck with me. I always felt like an outsider and reflected on this feeling. There's this saying that if you want to know a society, you have to see how they behave with their children." (Balint Szimler)

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