L'Homme de la Cave / The Man in the Basement

A Jewish couple in Paris unsuspectingly sell a damp, inconspicuous basement room in their apartment building - but the buyer actually moves into the vaulted cellar and begins to permeate the family's life. The seemingly banal real estate transaction develops into an oppressive chamber play in which everyday normality and subliminal hatred mingle ominously

The former history teacher, who presents himself as a polite, cultured tenant, increasingly turns out to be an anti-Semitic conspiracy ideologue and Holocaust denier who exerts a dangerous fascination on the family's teenage daughter in particular. With quiet tones, psychological tension and strong acting performances, the film reveals how right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic attitudes are manifested today in a bourgeois guise - right in the middle of our neighborhood

Following the screening, which will be shown in the original French with English subtitles, we will talk to the Judaist Prof. Dr. Klaus Davidowicz (University of Vienna), historian and recognized expert on the reception of the Holocaust in art, literature and film as well as on the history of Jewish book culture. His work sheds light on how anti-Semitic narratives continue to have an impact in the past and present and how cultural media can help to critically uncover them. Together, we want to explore the question of how cinematic narratives can help to recognize current forms of anti-Semitism, which historical patterns are perpetuated in them and how the apparent "normality" of right-wing extremist positions in our societies can be critically questioned.

The discussion offers space for questions from the audience and invites them to discuss the topics raised in the film - culture of remembrance, responsibility and civil courage - in their relation to current social developments.

Tickets are available online and on site

Admission is free for members of the HfJS Heidelberg.