Favoriten

For three years, Ruth Beckermann accompanied a class of pupils aged seven to ten and their dedicated teacher in a large elementary school in the Viennese district of Favoriten, an ethnically diverse, former working-class district that is often referred to in the media as the “most dangerous district in Vienna”. More than sixty percent of Vienna's primary school pupils do not use German as their first language, and the system suffers from an acute shortage of teachers. Although these problems are clearly present in the film, they are not addressed head-on in FAVORITEN. Instead, we get to know the children as individuals as they learn, grow and develop in the time leading up to their final year of primary school. By getting to know the “favorites”, we experience a critical time with them that will have a decisive impact on their future.