The Maths Teacher

Short documentary, UK/Romania, 8 minutes 8 seconds

Director: Nadia Barbu

Voice actors: Serban Anghene, Iacob Bacian, Stefania Spinu, Victoria Raileanu

Does school prepare you for adult life? Does hardship build character? A personal and unconventional documentary about a teacher who left deep scars on the psyche of his former pupils.

Once upon a time, in early 2000s Romania, there was a Maths teacher who had a bad temper. One of the little girls he’d taught has never been able to forget him.

After many years of recurring nightmares, she decided to reconnect with former classmates to find out if they, too, still had bad dreams about fifth grade Maths class. This film is based on their memories.

The film was mostly crafted and filmed in a small London flat during the Covid-19 lockdown, using a variety of techniques, from stop-motion to live-action puppetry and 2D animation.