„I think education has something to do with everything: With bribery, with blackmail, with shouting and being friendly. The latter is necessary so that the children don't hate the teachers.“
Dennis, 12 , student
At eye level with the children, director Hubertus Siegert takes part in the adventure of a school term in a very special and at that time unique class, in which pupils of extremely different abilities learn together. Some of the children have no disabilities, four of the children are categorised as challanged, ranging from learning difficulties to severe disabilities. Successes and conflicts, fun and tears, humour and hardship, rivalries and friendships flash up in the various stories, which together paint a moving picture of a multi-layered and exciting universe all of its own: class life.
„Maybe you should first learn to ignore people who bawl or make faces behind your back and not let others disturb you."
Luca, 12, Student
Johanna
Marvin
Natalie
February 2004: Luca, Marvin, Natalie, Dennis, Johanna, Christian and 15 other children meet at the Fläming School in Berlin at the start of the half term. The class has two tutors, several subject teachers and the class teacher, Ms Haase. She is considered strict but fair. Her great love is the theatre.
Johanna at a school performance.
Christian and Natalie are making props.
Public theatre performance by the class.
The children prepare presentations in highly heterogeneous working groups. "But I learn faster on my own", says one of them, and realises how difficult it is to pass on his own head start to the others. School is not fun every day. Homework is forgotten, tears are shed after an unfair exam. Dictation means stress, and "I'd rather not sit next to you" may be even worse. A theatre play is being rehearsed, but who is playing the lead role? During the break, you play "boys catch girls" or jump over a neck-breakingly long chain of school bags.
School is not just about teaching and learning. You laugh, you are sad, you fool around, you are scared, you play, you fight, you play small and play big; alone and, what is very important in this school, together. At the end, the children celebrate the birthday of a classmate. She suffers from an incurable illness, can no longer move or speak and yet is still a lively part of this class community.
Hubertus Siegert does not explain a pedagogical concept, but observes with great attention and sympathy, without sentimental glorification or pedagogical pointing fingers, the everyday life of eleven-year-olds outside the usual segregation into grammar schools, secondary schools, mainstream schools and special schools: no PISA debate, but an exciting and moving adventure full of passions, moments of happiness and catastrophes, "aha"-experiences, expectations and insights. In the loving closeness to its protagonists, KLASSENLEBEN opens up - to the adult audience - a strangely forgotten world that is nevertheless completely present.
Luca
Luca and Marvin
Dennis
Filming took place over a total of 35 days, spread over one to two-week blocks throughout the school term. The filming day usually began at half past six in the morning in front of the school, where the arriving pupils and the gateway between the non-institutional life and the school life was filmed. The filming had a visible impact on the pupils' everyday school experrience. The classroom windows had to be tinted to ensure stable lighting conditions and thus freedom of movement for the camera. The film crew consisted of Ulla Kösterke and Wolfgang Schukrafft, who set up and recorded the sound, Armin Fausten as cameraman and the director Hubertus Siegert, who was able to follow the work of his colleagues and give instructions via mobile monitor and intercom.
Lena with classmates
Marvin learns with classmates
Sarah and Lena have known each other since kindergarten
When his son was about to start school in 2003, director Hubertus Siegert met with a teacher whose school had a unique concept: classes in which both disabled and non-disabled children were taught. He found what he learnt about this form of joint teaching fascinating: The idea for the film KLASSENLEBEN was born. Just 12 months later, preparations, planning and filming were complete - and 100 hours of material were reviewed and edited down to 85 minutes.
„Hubertus Siegert's sensitive observations are made without commentary, only the children speak off-screen about their expereinces. Anyone who previously believed that sorting children according to performance at an early age was the only way to achieve better results might have second thoughts after watching this film.“
Leipziger Volkszeitung
„Class Life has a gentle tone and does not point the finger at PISA or shout about doing the world a better place, but it does point in a certain direction: every school should be an examination that consists of more than just going through the curriculum."
critic.de
„The attentive camera at the children's eye level like an invisible classmate... Siegert's film conveys an authentic atmosphere, intimate insights into an extraordinary class. The film gains depth by expressing feelings that cannot be easily photographed, that elude the eye: Dreams, longings, memories.“
film-dienst
KLASSENLEBEN opens up an extraordinarily lively school world to the viewer. The director avoids sentimental cuteness, even in situations that could be tempting. KLASSENLEBEN takes its protagonists seriously and impresses with the integrity and humility with which the cinematic takes a back seat to the actors. So much decency is infectious: The pop group Abba granted the - otherwise prohibitively expensive - licence rights for the closing song DANCING QUEEN almost for free.“
Tagesspiegel
Filming in the classroom. Sound recordist Ulla Kösterke, cameraman Armin Fausten and director Hubertus Siegert
D 2005, 87 min., 35 mm, 1 : 1,66, Dolby Digital © S.U.M.O. Film
Production, writer and director: Hubertus Siegert
Editing: Bernd Euscher
Rough Cut: Heike Parplies
Camera: Armin Fausten
Lighting: Patrick Lindenmaier
Sound: Ulla Kösterke, Wolfgang Schukrafft
Sound design: Alexander Saal
Sound editing: Daniel Dietenberger
Rerecording Mixer: Michael Hinreiner
Music Consultant: Thomas Krinzinger
Still Photography: Wolfgang Borrs, Katrin Knoke
Poster and Titledesign: www.lsd-berlin.de, Lenore Blievernicht
Dramaturgic Advice: Barbara Sichtermann, Sten Nadolny, Oliver Rauch
Production Management: Ulrich Adomat
Commissioning Editor RBB/ARTE: Anette Fleming
„I think education has something to do with everything: With bribery, with blackmail, with shouting and being friendly. The latter is necessary so that the children don't hate the teachers.“
Dennis, 12 , student
At eye level with the children, director Hubertus Siegert takes part in the adventure of a school term in a very special and at that time unique class, in which pupils of extremely different abilities learn together. Some of the children have no disabilities, four of the children are categorised as challanged, ranging from learning difficulties to severe disabilities. Successes and conflicts, fun and tears, humour and hardship, rivalries and friendships flash up in the various stories, which together paint a moving picture of a multi-layered and exciting universe all of its own: class life.
„Maybe you should first learn to ignore people who bawl or make faces behind your back and not let others disturb you."
Luca, 12, Student
Johanna
Marvin
Natalie
February 2004: Luca, Marvin, Natalie, Dennis, Johanna, Christian and 15 other children meet at the Fläming School in Berlin at the start of the half term. The class has two tutors, several subject teachers and the class teacher, Ms Haase. She is considered strict but fair. Her great love is the theatre.
Johanna at a school performance.
Christian and Natalie are making props.
Public theatre performance by the class.
The children prepare presentations in highly heterogeneous working groups. "But I learn faster on my own", says one of them, and realises how difficult it is to pass on his own head start to the others. School is not fun every day. Homework is forgotten, tears are shed after an unfair exam. Dictation means stress, and "I'd rather not sit next to you" may be even worse. A theatre play is being rehearsed, but who is playing the lead role? During the break, you play "boys catch girls" or jump over a neck-breakingly long chain of school bags.
School is not just about teaching and learning. You laugh, you are sad, you fool around, you are scared, you play, you fight, you play small and play big; alone and, what is very important in this school, together. At the end, the children celebrate the birthday of a classmate. She suffers from an incurable illness, can no longer move or speak and yet is still a lively part of this class community.
Hubertus Siegert does not explain a pedagogical concept, but observes with great attention and sympathy, without sentimental glorification or pedagogical pointing fingers, the everyday life of eleven-year-olds outside the usual segregation into grammar schools, secondary schools, mainstream schools and special schools: no PISA debate, but an exciting and moving adventure full of passions, moments of happiness and catastrophes, "aha"-experiences, expectations and insights. In the loving closeness to its protagonists, KLASSENLEBEN opens up - to the adult audience - a strangely forgotten world that is nevertheless completely present.
Luca
Luca and Marvin
Dennis
Filming took place over a total of 35 days, spread over one to two-week blocks throughout the school term. The filming day usually began at half past six in the morning in front of the school, where the arriving pupils and the gateway between the non-institutional life and the school life was filmed. The filming had a visible impact on the pupils' everyday school experrience. The classroom windows had to be tinted to ensure stable lighting conditions and thus freedom of movement for the camera. The film crew consisted of Ulla Kösterke and Wolfgang Schukrafft, who set up and recorded the sound, Armin Fausten as cameraman and the director Hubertus Siegert, who was able to follow the work of his colleagues and give instructions via mobile monitor and intercom.
Lena with classmates
Marvin learns with classmates
Sarah and Lena have known each other since kindergarten
When his son was about to start school in 2003, director Hubertus Siegert met with a teacher whose school had a unique concept: classes in which both disabled and non-disabled children were taught. He found what he learnt about this form of joint teaching fascinating: The idea for the film KLASSENLEBEN was born. Just 12 months later, preparations, planning and filming were complete - and 100 hours of material were reviewed and edited down to 85 minutes.
„Hubertus Siegert's sensitive observations are made without commentary, only the children speak off-screen about their expereinces. Anyone who previously believed that sorting children according to performance at an early age was the only way to achieve better results might have second thoughts after watching this film.“
Leipziger Volkszeitung
„Class Life has a gentle tone and does not point the finger at PISA or shout about doing the world a better place, but it does point in a certain direction: every school should be an examination that consists of more than just going through the curriculum."
critic.de
„The attentive camera at the children's eye level like an invisible classmate... Siegert's film conveys an authentic atmosphere, intimate insights into an extraordinary class. The film gains depth by expressing feelings that cannot be easily photographed, that elude the eye: Dreams, longings, memories.“
film-dienst
KLASSENLEBEN opens up an extraordinarily lively school world to the viewer. The director avoids sentimental cuteness, even in situations that could be tempting. KLASSENLEBEN takes its protagonists seriously and impresses with the integrity and humility with which the cinematic takes a back seat to the actors. So much decency is infectious: The pop group Abba granted the - otherwise prohibitively expensive - licence rights for the closing song DANCING QUEEN almost for free.“
Tagesspiegel
Filming in the classroom. Sound recordist Ulla Kösterke, cameraman Armin Fausten and director Hubertus Siegert
D 2005, 87 min., 35 mm, 1 : 1,66, Dolby Digital © S.U.M.O. Film
Production, writer and director: Hubertus Siegert
Editing: Bernd Euscher
Rough Cut: Heike Parplies
Camera: Armin Fausten
Lighting: Patrick Lindenmaier
Sound: Ulla Kösterke, Wolfgang Schukrafft
Sound design: Alexander Saal
Sound editing: Daniel Dietenberger
Rerecording Mixer: Michael Hinreiner
Music Consultant: Thomas Krinzinger
Still Photography: Wolfgang Borrs, Katrin Knoke
Poster and Titledesign: www.lsd-berlin.de, Lenore Blievernicht
Dramaturgic Advice: Barbara Sichtermann, Sten Nadolny, Oliver Rauch
Production Management: Ulrich Adomat
Commissioning Editor RBB/ARTE: Anette Fleming
S.U.M.O. FILM
Marienstraße 27
D-10117 Berlin
office [at] sumofilm.de
SPICE FILM
Marienstraße 27
D-10117 Berlin
office [at] spicefilm.de
S.U.M.O. FILM
Marienstraße 27
D-10117 Berlin
office [at] sumofilm.de
SPICE FILM
Marienstraße 27
D-10117 Berlin
office [at] spicefilm.de