Institute History
Description
Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic
Stuck in Staten Island, married to a kind but oblivious husband, and living with kids that mostly ignore her, 40-year-old Lisa Spinelli (Maggie Gyllenhaal) plods through her days teaching kindergarten with growing numbness. Her one source of joy is an evening poetry class across the bay in Lower Manhattan. But one day everything changes—Lisa discovers that a five-year-old boy in her class may be the poet she can only dream of being. She becomes fascinated. Could this child be a prodigy? A Mozart? Fascination turns to obsession as Lisa pushes boundaries to protect the boy from a banal life she knows too well. In a harrowing climax, Lisa risks her career, her family, and her freedom to nurture his genius and possibly tap into her own.
Gyllenhaal propels every moment of this mysterious film with a beguiling performance that proves once again she’s one of the most interesting actors working today. Based on an acclaimed Israeli film, The Kindergarten Teacher is the superb sophomore feature from writer/director Sara Colangelo (Little Accidents, 2014 Sundance Film Festival).