Left Luggage

The story unfolds during World War II and extends into the immediate postwar period. It centers on the trauma of exile and loss carried from the war years. The transition from occupation to reconstruction shapes the characters’ choices and relationships.

Antwerp, Belgium serves as the postwar urban setting for the story. The city’s streets, parks, and apartment blocks frame the tensions between memory, tradition, and modernity. The Hasidic family and Chaya navigate antisemitism and memory as they try to build a future.

🕊️ Identity

Chaya’s presence in a strict Hasidic home creates a clash between secular modernity and traditional faith. The narrative examines how people negotiate belonging, memory, and personal choice within a divided cultural landscape. Through her bond with Simcha, the film explores what it means to define oneself in the aftermath of trauma.

🕯️ Memory & Grief

The past casts a long shadow over the present, surfacing in family dynamics and mourning rituals. Mourning becomes a space where shared pain can be acknowledged or misdirected. The story uses Simcha’s fate and Chaya’s role to reflect on how memory sustains, tests, or heals relationships.

🛡️ Resistance

Antisemitic pressures meet quiet defiance as Chaya refuses to be a passive victim. The family and their allies demonstrate resilience through acts of care, courage, and mutual understanding. The film frames resistance as both personal integrity and communal solidarity.