philfliX: Philosophieren im Kino (Demenz und Autonomie)

Autonomy & Dementia: The Father (2021)

July 14, 2026 – starting at 6:30 p.m.
The Father ( Director: Florian Zeller, 2021)
Speaker: Laura Hartmann-Wackers, M.A.
Topic: Autonomy & Dementia

About the Film:
Anne is extremely worried. Her father, Anthony, is noticeably declining. He lives in a spacious apartment in London, suffers from dementia, and doesn’t realize he needs help. As a result, he can sometimes get irritated when Anne reminds him of this or that—after all, he’s not a little schoolboy who needs to be told everything. But Anthony’s lapses are becoming more severe, and Anne can’t watch over him around the clock. So she takes her father in and arranges for a caregiver to look after him during the day. But even the caregiver doesn’t make things easy for Anthony; she quickly becomes brusque and accuses him of theft. In reality, he has usually just misplaced the things he thinks are missing. He can also be very charming, however, and make eyes at her when he mistakes her for his late wife. Things can’t go on like this, especially since Anne wants to move to Paris to be with a new boyfriend. She carefully prepares her father for the possibility that he may have to move into a care facility. (Source: Düsseldorfer Filmkunstkinos)

After the film:
Following the film, philosopher Laura Hartmann-Wackers (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf) will discuss with the audience the relationship between dementia and autonomy: To what extent are people with dementia self-determined? What consequences does this have for how they are treated and cared for? What role does identity play in dementia? And what perspectives on the experience of dementia does the film itself open up by telling the story from the perspective of someone with dementia?

📍Location:Bambi Filmstudio, Klosterstr. 78
🎟️Tickets & Info:t1p.de/filmphilo

About the project:
📽philfliX
Want to watch exciting films and then engage in philosophical discussion in the theater? As part of the philfliX series, philosophers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf give short introductory talks following selected film screenings, in which they draw interesting connections between the film and philosophical topics. Afterward, the audience is invited to discuss the film with the experts in the theater. The philfliX project is part of the interactive public philosophy project denXte.

Organization: denXte Team (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Moderator: Jonas Ouass
 

The project is funded by the HHU’s Citizens’ University.