The Return from the Other Planet — Claims Conference Film Grants

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A fascinating documentary about an author who initially wrote under a pseudonym, but later revealed his true and not unblemished identity.

Synopsis

In 1945, after his liberation from Auschwitz, Yechiel De-Nur starts writing books. He publishes them under the pseudonym Ka-Tzetnik (“the man from the camps”). His books sell millions of copies and are translated into 32 languages. It is not until the trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961, where he gives testimony as a witness, that his identity becomes known, because there as in his books, he describes Auschwitz as “the other planet”. He treats his traumas with LSD and writes an account of his experiences that changes everything: “I Am an SS Man”.

About the Director

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 – Schneevon 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 2018, won The Impact Docs Award and was screened worldwide; BORN IN DIERYASSIN, 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”. 8episodes 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.

Artistic Statement

“How would the memories of Auschwitz look like under LSD influence?” This question has haunted me for over a decade since I first heard about “The Code,” a rare book written by the known Holocaust survivor, Ka.tzetnik.

My first encounter with the author was at the age of sixteen, when his work was distributed to every teenager in Israel by the Ministry of Education, except for this particular book. “The Code,” I’ve learned, is a transcription of the LSD sessions Ka.tzetnik underwent. It had nothing to do with the writer I knew back then, when I was only a teenager, and it left me with a sense of curiosity and a gap that I couldn’t fill.

Ka.tzetnik was a role model for a Holocaust survivor in Israel. The phrase he coined in his early books to describe Auschwitz, “The Other Planet,” a place outside of the human understanding, helped shape my worldview. Good vs. evil, us vs. them. Like me, the state of Israel embraced Ka.tzetnik’s books, and the “The Other Planet” concept became central in Israel, lasting till today.

Years later, I finally had the opportunity to read Ka.tzetnik’s final book, “The Code”.

The vivid and haunting memories he recounts under the influence of LSD and the new insights he reached were shocking. Only then that I truly understood the scope of his ideas and the depth of his writing.

The book rejects the notion of “The Other Planet” and instead focuses on human responsibility for preventing evil. It was a message that was rarely heard in discussions about the Holocaust, and it left a lasting impression on me. I was surprised to learn that Ka.tzetnik’s clear message had been overlooked by many of his readers. The once-central writer was left alone.

I had to learn more and embarked on a journey to explore Ka.tzetnik’s life and writing. As I delved deeper, I realized that Ka.tzetnik’s writing and ideas are relevant today. Now, I feel obligated to tell this man’s story.

-Assaf Lapid