Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen

Melanie, a young teacher from Swabia, is full of idealism as she takes up her first post in Karlsruhe. But she is soon confronted with the harsh reality of the daily grind at school and finds it harder than expected to interact with her pupils. She also finds it hard to cope with loneliness in a new city. Melanie rejects the contacts that unfold themselves until she gets to know her neighbor Tina and seems to have finally ‘arrived’. But Melanie’s hopes for the friendship don’t come to fruition. When Tina begins to retreat, the forest around Melanie thickens, and in her distress she starts running in the wrong direction. 

DER WALD VOR LAUTER BÄUMEN is Maren Ades’ final exam production for the Munich Film and Television Academy (HFF München).