The Teacher (2023 film)

Basem is a Palestinian schoolteacher who finds himself caught between his commitment to political resistance and his role as a father figure to one of his students, Adam. Set in the present-day West Bank in the occupied Palestinian Territories, Nabulsi described the film as a "human drama set in a political landscape" and "a story about characters that represent a severely marginalised and underrepresented people," stating that she "needed to make this film to cope with the injustice I've witnessed."{{cite web |last=Lodderhose |first=Diana |title=British-Palestinian Filmmaker Farah Nabulsi On Debut Feature 'The Teacher': "I Needed To Make This Film To Cope With The Injustice I’ve Witnessed" — Toronto |url=https://deadline.com/2023/09/british-palestinian-filmmaker-farah-nabulsi-debut-feature-the-teacher-i-needed-to-make-this-film-to-cope-with-the-injustice-ive-witnessed-toronto-1235540410/ |website=Deadline |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=8 September 2023}}

• Saleh Bakri as Basem El Saleh
• Imogen Poots as Lisa
• Muhammad Abed Elrahman as Adam
• Stanley Townsend as Simon Cohen
• Muayyad Abd Elsamad
• Andrea Irvine
• Nabil Al Raee
• {{ill|Mahmood Bakri|es}}
• Paul Herzberg

The film was shot entirely in the West Bank, particularly in Nablus, over three months.{{cite web |last=Linden |first=Sheri |title='The Teacher' Review: A Debut Feature's Eye-Opening Dramatization of Life in Occupied Palestine |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-teacher-review-imogen-poots-1235572286/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=10 September 2023}} Regarding the choice to film in Palestine, director Farah Nabulsi "felt there was a responsibility" to do so, stating, "I did contemplate the path of least resistance, like doing it in Jordan or a different location. But I thought it a privilege to be able to actually enter Palestine and make a film in Palestine, which many Palestinian filmmakers can't."{{cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr |title=Hot Film Package: Farah Nabulsi-Directed Palestine-Shot Drama ‘The Teacher’ Ready For Fall Market |url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/hot-film-package-farah-nabulsi-directed-palestine-shot-drama-the-teacher-ready-for-fall-market-1235103469/ |website=Deadline |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=30 August 2022}} In an interview with Deadline, she described "the emotional and mental toll" of leading a team whilst "trying to do justice to a reality that's unfolding around you." She cited Israeli settlers torching olive trees in a Palestinian village nearby while filming, as well as a military raid on Nablus which occurred just a few kilometres from where the crew had been shooting a few hours earlier.{{cite web |last=Ritman |first=Alex |title=Toronto Hidden Gem: Farah Nabulsi Crafts a Palestinian Socio-Political Suspense Drama in Feature Debut 'The Teacher' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/the-teacher-farah-nabulsi-interview-palestine-toronto-1235585379/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=9 September 2023}}

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2023, with an exclusive clip released by Variety two days prior.{{cite web |last=Barraclough |first=Leo |title=First Clip Debuts for Farah Nabulsi's Thriller 'The Teacher,' Starring Imogen Poots, Saleh Bakri, Ahead of Toronto Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/global/farah-nabulsis-the-teacher-imogen-poots-saleh-bakri-toronto-1235714608/ |website=Variety |access-date=18 October 2023 |date=7 September 2023}} The film had a theatrical release in the MENA region from February 2024, followed by a UK and Northern Ireland release in September 2024.{{Cite web |date=5 August 2023 |title=Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher set to debut in UK and Ireland, explores lives in occupied Palestine |url=https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2024/08/05/farah-nabulsis-the-teacher-set-to-debut-in-uk-and-ireland-explores-lives-in-occupied-palestine/ |website=The Upcoming}} It became available on-demand in the MENA region via Google Play, Apple TV, and OSN TV in December 2024. In February 2025, Watermelon Pictures acquired the U.S. distribution rights and the film received a theatrical release across North America from 11 April 2025.{{cite web |last=Vivarelli |first=Nick |title=Timely Palestinian Drama 'The Teacher' Lands U.S. Distribution Deal Amid Fragile Ceasefire in Gaza (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/global/tpalestinian-drama-the-teacher-us-distribution-deal-1236295034/ |website=Variety |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=3 February 2025}}{{cite web |last=Booth |first=Ned |title='The Teacher' Trailer: Imogen Poots & Saleh Bakri Star In Gripping Palestinian Drama [Exclusive] |url=https://theplaylist.net/the-teacher-trailer-imogen-poots-saleh-bakri-star-in-palestinian-drama-20250306/ |website=The Playlist |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=6 March 2025}} In May 2025, it became available on-demand in the UK, Ireland, USA, and Canada via YouTube, Prime Video, Apple TV+, and other platforms.

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|83|3=29|ref=yes|access-date=5 May 2025}} {{Metacritic film prose|62|12|ref=yes|access-date=5 May 2025}}

Vogue's Taylor Antrim included the film on his list of "10 Movies From the Toronto Film Festival to Get Excited About", commending the performances of Saleh Bakri and Imogen Poots and writing that he felt "moved and gripped by the film's exploration of Palestinian anger and grief."{{cite web |last=Antrim |first=Taylor |author-link=Taylor Antrim |title=10 Movies From the Toronto Film Festival to Get Excited About |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/10-movies-to-see-after-toronto-film-festival-2023 |website=Vogue |access-date=11 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913201948/https://www.vogue.com/article/10-movies-to-see-after-toronto-film-festival-2023 |archive-date=13 September 2023 |date=13 September 2023 |url-status=dead}}

Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "riveting", "eye-opening", and "an intimate exploration of life in occupied Palestine". She also praised the performances of Bakri, Poots, and Muhammad Abed Elrahman.

Screen Daily's Tim Grierson commended Nabulsi for "[tackling] a thorny issue with complexity, crafting a drama with several tendrils reaching out in all different directions, illustrating how the Israeli/Palestinian dispute impacts so many in the region."{{cite web |last=Grierson |first=Tim |title='The Teacher': Toronto Review |url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-teacher-toronto-review/5185338.article |website=Screen Daily |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=9 September 2023}}

Alex Ritman of The Hollywood Reporter called the film a "Toronto hidden gem" and Screen Daily listed The Teacher as one of the “20 stand-out titles from Toronto 2023."{{cite web |last=Halligan |first=Fionnuala |title=20 stand-out titles from Toronto 2023 |url=https://www.screendaily.com/features/20-stand-out-titles-from-toronto-2023/5186061.article |website=Screen Daily |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=20 September 2023}}

While acknowledging the "necessary counterbalance" the film provided "in a climate where Palestinian perspectives on the conflict are given limited opportunity for exposure," IndieWire criticised the film for focusing too much on Basem and Lisa's relationship, as this gave "short shrift to dynamics that carry much more necessity and weight."{{cite web |last=Chapman |first=Wilson |title='The Teacher' Review: Inspired by True Events Drama Offers an Undercooked Revenge Story |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-teacher-review-tiff-imogen-poots-1234900079/ |website=IndieWire |access-date=11 April 2025 |date=10 September 2023}}

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Category:2020s Arabic-language films

Category:2020s English-language films

Category:2023 drama films

Category:British drama films

Category:English-language Palestinian films

Category:English-language Qatari films

Category:Films about educators

Category:Films about teacher–student relationships

Category:Films set in Palestine (region)

Category:Films set in the West Bank

Category:Films shot in Palestine (region)

Category:Films shot in Palestine

Category:Israeli–Palestinian conflict films

Category:Palestinian drama films

Category:Qatari drama films