Films themed around romantic and sexual relationships between female teachers and male students

There are several controversial films in world cinema that explore romantic and sexual relationships between female teachers and male students. This article intends to examine a few of them.

These can be identified as numerous creations that depict various aspects of teachers overstepping their professional boundaries and the consequences thereof.

Directed by Hannah Fidell in 2013, 'A Teacher' vividly portrays the psychological impact of such a relationship, depicting how English teacher Diana Watts' affair with her student later spirals out of her control and develops into a dangerous obsession. 

The Swedish film 'All Things Fair' (Lust och fägring stor), released in 1995, depicts a relationship between a 15-year-old student and his 37-year-old teacher during World War II, and it was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. 

Similarly, Peter Svatek's 'Student Seduction' (2003) presents a dark narrative about a student becoming violent after being rejected by a teacher, and the subsequent social challenges she faces.

Drake Doremus's 'Breathe In' (2013) discusses the attraction between a music teacher and a foreign student, while 



Jade Halley Bartlett's latest film 'Miller's Girl' (2024) explores the intellectual and sexual attraction between a creative writing teacher and a student, and its consequences.

 The Austrian-French production 'The Piano Teacher' (2001) depicted a complex and oppressive sexual relationship between a piano professor and her student, and was awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. 

The Singaporean film 'Wet Season' (2019) portrays the empathy that develops between a lonely teacher and a student, while

Norway's 'An Affair' (2018) illustrates the threat that mutual obsession between a teacher and a student poses to their professional lives.

Additionally, works such as 'Liberal Arts' (2012), 'Notes on a Scandal' (2006), and 'Blue Car' (2000) also follow this theme. All these films collectively delve deeply into the power imbalance between teacher and student, illicit relationships stemming from dissatisfaction in personal life, and the serious social and psychological damage caused by violating professional ethics.