The Knockturnal attended the New York premiere of “The Kindergarten Teacher” at The Crosby Hotel on Tuesday, October 9.
The film tells the story of a Kindergarten Teacher who finds herself in the company of a potential child prodigy. After failed attempts at trying to fulfill her own artistic cravings, she discovers the rare and raw talent in one of her students. She sees this as a grand opportunity for him to grow as an artist, and perhaps more selfishly thrives off of his unique gift. Despite protests from his father, she is willing to do anything to make his talent known.
The Knockturnal: Can you speak a little bit about your character in the film?
Samrat Chakrabarti: The film is about Maggie’s character who is trying to find her poetic soul and she finds it in this little boy, and she’s like “Where does the little boy get it from?”. And she kinda tracks it down to his dad and his uncle and I play the uncle. The uncle is kinda more of an artist guy and he works as an editor and he got him into poetry, but he also is not his dad so he can’t say too much. It’s a very interesting role, as a son of an immigrant in this country my dad wanted me to be a doctor so I always had an uncle who said that if I wanted to be an actor, I should go be that. So I modeled this character after him and this character is a big ode to him. It was also an extraordinary chance to work with Maggie Gyllenhaal, she’s one of the greatest of the contemporary times. It was great, just being on set with Sara’s direction, it felt effortless.
The Knockturnal: Has this film impacted your viewpoint on the role teachers play for their students?
Samrat Chakrabarti: This is a great film about how with parenting or teaching there are pros and cons as adults. We can be very giving but also take a lot. I think this film, specifically, Maggie’s character it’s so subtly performed and it makes people think about education and educators and it makes people think about how to communicate with kids and maybe not take advantage.
The Knockturnal: What do you think would have been different had the story taken place somewhere other than New York?
Samrat Chakrabarti: Everything. I think a kindergarten teacher in New York whos trying to be a poet, they have places like that here. In other places, they could do it but New York adds a lot. I can’t see it filmed anywhere else. New York has that diversity. We’re talking about a poster that has Maggie Gyllenhaal and an Indian boy to me that is New York.
The Knockturnal: Has this film impacted your viewpoint on the role teachers play for their students?
Rosa Salazar: If it’s a teacher in a city where kids are more needy, the teacher provides the role of a teacher, friend, and confidant. There were teachers in y life that provided a wide range of roles in my life. In this movie, because the kids are so small, you see Maggie touching the kids a lot and that’s normal. They require that maternal attention.
The Knockturnal: How do you feel about young talent being discovered?
Rosa Salazar: It can go a number of ways. If I were a parent, I don’t think I would rush to push them so quickly. I’m glad I wasn’t a child star. I can’t imagine being any younger than I am now. It provides an array of problems, you’re still forming. Your brain is still forming, your ideals are still forming and you haven’t had these experiences yet and you don’t know how to handle them.
The Knockturnal: Has this film impacted your viewpoint on the role teachers play for their students?
Anna Baryshnikov: My teachers were the most influential people of my life. Almost in a more conscious way than my parents at that age. I feel like you are raised in a house and you take it for granted but teachers open up your eyes and see you as independent from your parents in some way. I think teachers are honestly heroes.
The Knockturnal: How do you feel about young talent being discovered so early?
Anna Baryshnikov: So many people are so talented. It’s really easy to see a young person who shows a lot of talent for something to want to jump on it and capitalize on it, not even monetarily speaking but it’s very easy to see young talent and to want it flourish. And the reality is that sometimes there are more important things than to be a child prodigy. What I love about this movie is that it doesn’t give a simple answer to that question. There’s parts of the kid’s talent you really want to see flourish and there are other reasons why you believe he should just be a kid.
The Knockturnal: Is there anything you find relatable about Maggie’s character?
Anna Baryshnikov: There is a lot about her character that feels relatable. When you feel boxed in on your own life, it’s very easy to fixate on someone else and wanting to fix them and I’ve definitely been in that situation.
The Knockturnal: Has this film impacted your viewpoint on the role teachers play for their students?
Ajay Naidu: Yes absolutely my son just started pre-k and for me, this movie is really special. As parents, we have so much invested in our children so it’s a pretty haunting. It makes you wonder how your kid is being brought up.
The Knockturnal: How do you feel about young talent being discovered so early?
Ajay Naidu: I started really early myself by accident. When someone is young they don’t know what they are doing but they are speaking from a place with real vulnerability. It’s really engaging and powerful but it can also be dangerous. When you ask how do I feel about talent being found so young, I think it’s wonderful but I also feel that it needs to be handled very carefully. Especially when the person is way too young to make their own decisions.
The Kindergarten Teacher is now streaming on Netflix.
