Melanie leaves home to start her teaching career, armed with alternative methods and bright-eyed optimism. But after her first day of classes, during which she gives an ambitious speech, Melanie finds rejection from her colleagues, torture from her students, and loneliness in her personal life.

Long before she scored an Oscar® nomination for Toni Erdmann, Maren Ade made her feature debut with this razor-sharp portrait of an idealistic teacher’s emotional unravelling. Ruthlessly unsentimental, The Forest for the Trees is an empathetic anatomisation of loneliness and social awkwardness.