“Belongings: Jewish Material Culture in 20th-Century Europe and Beyond” is the first Germany and Israel based International Research Training Group in the humanities. On 20 January 2026, Israeli filmmaker, queer activist and producer of the project “The Hebrews/Ha Ivrim” Yair Qedar was a guest there to present and discuss his latest film “Outsider. Freud”.
The film explores Freud’s experiences of marginalisation as a Jew in Vienna during Hitler’s rise and how these shaped his theories and personal life. Through an intimate lens, “Outsider.Freud” reveals new dimensions of Freud’s legacy, focusing on his influence on psychoanalysis, Judaism and the power dynamics of being an outsider.
The film is part of the award-winning film series Ha’Ivrim – The Hebrews, which creatively presents the lives of important Jewish personalities and has been shown repeatedly on Israeli television.
Before the filmscreening in the evening at Kinobar “Prager Frühling” in Leipzig, Yair Qedar held a master class and career talk about his project, “The Hebrews.” The PhD students were invited to ask questions about his creative and artistic journey, gaining an intimate understanding of what it means to work as a producer and director. Attendees also had the opportunity to watch clips from his films. They discussed how he brings the materiality of Jewish history and culture to life in his films and what cinematic techniques he uses to make Jewish history tangible and experiential.
In the evening, the film was screened in the presence of the director. This was followed by a Q&A session moderated by Carolin Heymann-Serota, who had invited Yair Qedar and also organised the master class.
Source, film trailer and further information: Belongings