LIAS Film Series: "The Return"
Wednesday, November 5th, 7 pm | SCALA Arthouse Cinema | free admission
05. Nov
This screening is part of the LIAS Film Series in cooperation with SCALA Programmkino. Each month, a curated selection of international films addressing cultural and social issues is presented, accompanied by introductions and discussions.
Date: Wednesday, 5 November 2025, 7 p.m.
Location: SCALA Arthouse Cinema | Apothekenstr. 17 | 21335 Lüneburg
Director Heide Grunebaum will be present.
In their documentary film, Heidi Grunebaum and Mark Kaplan, both Jewish South Africans, explore the complex aftermath of the Holocaust, apartheid, and colonial racist violence.
At the heart of the haunting documentary The Return is Heidi Grunebaum's journey to the small town of Hungen in Hesse, from which her grandmother Emmi fled the Nazis in 1936, only to encounter a new system of racist exclusion in South Africa. Based on her family history, the film unfolds a multi-layered panorama of contemporary struggles over memory in South Africa, Germany, and beyond. The aftermath of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, apartheid, colonial violence, and contemporary racism are linked to political analysis through the personal stories of South African and German interviewees. The narrative spans from the horrors of National Socialism to apartheid and the return of authoritarian ideologies today.
Through poetic imagery and multi-layered documentary conversations, the film reveals how colonial continuities, structural racism, and ethno-nationalist movements are intertwined. It asks what role solidarity, Jewish diaspora perspectives, and postcolonial thinking can play in shaping a more just future.
This film is part of the LIAS film series in cooperation with the SCALA arthouse cinema. Every month, international films on cultural and socially critical topics are accompanied by introductions and discussions.
Free admission.
2024 | Directors: Mark J Kaplan & Heidi Grunebaum | Southafrica | 96 Min.
