You were listening to the Next Best Picture podcast, and this is Daniel Howitt's interview with the director and co-writer for The Teachers Lounge, Ilker Katak.

Good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good.

It has nothing with magic to do, but mathematics. Thank you so much for chatting with me today about your film, the Teachers Lounge.

I loved the Teachers Lounge when I saw it back at TIF, so I'm thrilled for the Academy Award nomination.

Congratulations on that, first of all.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, it's been wild.

Yeah, I was going to ask, what's it been like to, first of all,

be selected to represent Germany as their submission,

but then also to be recognized for the Oscar nomination.

Well, you know, I mean, the beauty of it all is that this is very, this was very unexpected, everything, because you might, I mean, you've seen the film. It's not a film that you would

set out to, to think it would, you know, get an ask nomination because it was a tiny little film

with, you know, just very little budget.

And we, you know, we, we, we, we first had our kickoff in Berlin,

and there was a buzz around the film, and then Sony picked it up, Sony Pictures Classics.

And then we got the nomination from Germany, which was a huge thing, which was huge, really.

And then, you know, and then I thought, okay, well, if we have been, if, you know, if the German

board has said, we believe in this film, then I thought, okay, it's a responsibility.

So I'm going to make sure I do everything to represent this film, then I thought, okay, it's the responsibility. So I'm going to make sure I do everything to represent this film and the cultural identity

of this country as good as I can.

And so I went to all festivals and to everywhere, you know, I went to tell you ride, to

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