Students become movie stars for a day

Primary school  teacher Philipp Huber has realised a film project together with his class, and the result will be shown at the Seehof cinema on Saturday.

A very special and exclusive film will be shown at the Seehof cinema this Saturday. But neither Brad Pit nor Julia Roberts are part of the cast. The fifteen stars of the film "yes or no" are the students of the sixth primary class MS2 of the Inwil school house in Baar and their class teacher Philipp Huber. The 77-minute work is the result of their class project, on which they have been working intensively over the past two years. "We realised the film project within the context of the new school subject ‘Media and Informatics’, and have tried to include as many other subjects as possible," explains Philipp Huber, who has always set up final projects such as a theatre, a talent show or a musical with his previous classes. Making a movie is the most complex project to date, however. The work is also part of Huber's further education as an ICT animator (Information and Communication Technology).

Teacher Philipp Huber, his students Doreen Heuer, Viviana Kunz, Emma Gresch and Elina Flühler (from left), together with ten other students, have created the film "yes or no" as their class project. Various scenes were also filmed in their school on the Rigistrasse in Inwil.

The theme of the film is an ominous online game in which students have to answer questions and solve tasks. This leads to the breaking of rules and friendships, and descends into chaos. "The content is very up-to-date, and we were able to identify well with it, as we often surf the Internet with our smartphones," says Viviana Kunz, a student who is also part of the author team. Huber had deliberately searched for a story that contained many themes from the "digital life". The class did all the work, whether acting, writing dialogues, sound technology, or often the camerawork itself. "I cut the scenes together," says Huber. He taught himself how to cut films by reading books and watching YouTube films. "The film project covered various school subjects, and, for example, we produced ukuleles or caps for the film in our handicraft lessons," says student Doreen Heuer. This made the subjects more fun. The class even stayed at the school overnight for a party scene.

Inwil's diversity to be demonstrated
As Philipp Huber has been a primary teacher in Inwil since 1996, the work is also intended to be a tribute to this place, which has shaped him for more than 23 years. "We filmed at various locations in Inwil to show the diversity here," says student Emma Gresch. The motive of the path appears again and again in the film, which is also intended to represent the further paths of the students into the future. "These two years have welded us together, and will be remembered for a long time," says student Elina Flühler. The class is very much looking forward to the presentation on Saturday. "We designed the invitations for our families and friends, as well as the cinema tickets, ourselves. We also sold cakes to cover the costs," says Viviana Kunz. Until recently, it was not clear whether the performance could take place due to the corona lockdown. "The children have worked hard, and deserve to be able to present this result," says Huber.