The other planet, comparable to nothing in this world – that was Auschwitz for him. Here Yehiel De-Nur experienced the Shoah, the horrors of which he came to terms with most unconventionally, in literary form, after the war under the pseudonym Ka.tzetnik. All the while leading a middle-class existence, his writings about violence, torture and cannibalism imprisoned him time and again.
The radical split into two personalities was Yehiel De-Nur's (born Yehiel Feiner) strategy for dealing with his trauma. When, shut away as Ka.tzetnik and dressed in prisoner's clothing, he composed his international bestsellers, he was back on the “other planet” that his fictional character, whose name derives from the pronunciation of the German abbreviation of concentration camp, KZ, had never left. Ka.tzetnik's books moved Israel. Here he reflected on excesses of violence, the proximity thereof to sexually connoted violence, the abysses of humanity and in the process - as a Holocaust survivor - provoked with titles such as “I am the SS-Man. A Vision” (German: “Ich bin der SS-Mann. Eine Vision“, the book is also known under the title “Shvitti. A Vision”). The name of the indie band Joy Division was also borrowed from a book by Ka.tzetnik.
De-Nur, in contrast, settled down in Israel as a humble husband and loving father. It was only at the Eichmann trial where, on the witness stand, De-Nur and Ka-Tzetnik encountered one another for the first time and the construct collapsed. Still haunted by trauma 30 years after the war, he hoped to finally find peace in the Netherlands with the help of LSD therapy.
This documentary biography gives visual expression to this personality split. While we encounter De-Nur the individual in accounts from contemporary witnesses and researchers, animated sequences introduce us to the thoughts of the author and his literary character Ka.tzetnik. In the process questions are posed both as to the overcoming of trauma, as well as the value of subjective truth.
Text: Rainer Mende
English: Peter Rickerby
Credits
original title THE RETURN FROM THE OTHER PLANET
international title THE RETURN FROM THE OTHER PLANET
german title THE RETURN FROM THE OTHER PLANET
JFBB section Documentary Film Competition
country/countries IL/DE
year 2023
duration 79
Assaf Lapid
BIO Assaf Lapid is an Israeli screenwriter, director and editor born in 1978. Assaf graduated from The Sam Spiegel film and TV school in Jerusalem in 2008, in which Assaf is now a lecturer and a project advisor.
For the last 15 years, Assaf is working as an editor for Israeli and international projects, many of them were screened worldwide, attract public attention, and won awards. Among them is FAREWELL HERR SCHWARZ (German title - Schnee von Gestern), a highly acclaimed documentary, titled “A masterpiece” by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Winner of the DEFA award at DOK Leipzig 2013, Haifa IFF, DIALOUGE Award – Cottbus FF, and more; CAUSE OF DEATH in which Assaf was the film’s co-writer and editor, premiered at IDFA 201, won The Impact Docs Award and was screened worldwide; BORN IN DIER YASSIN, An Israeli Film Academy Award Nominee who won a special mention at The Jerusalem film festival, and more; MAMA'S ANGEL (2014) – Drama series, 10 episodes. Premiere at Series Mania; WINDING (2015) –Winner FICA 2016, Chicago Arthouse FF, Special Award Green FF 2016 and more.
Nowadays Assaf is co-editing, Oscar nominee, Dror Moreh's new project, “Corridors of Power”. 8 episodes Documentary series for SHOWTIME, BBC, and the Israeli broadcast channel (KAN). The series will be aired in 2023.
The Return from the Other Planet is Assaf’s debut film as a director.
