Films by Ferdinand Freising

Germany 2022, 90 min
by Katharina Köster

When it's easier to fight than just to live. Tobi has a heart transplant.On the journey to the clinic, thoughts come to him: “what will I do if I survive this? What comes next?” At that moment he is afraid of all the future possibilities. The heart transplant is a success. Tobias is saved. Katharina Köster accompanies Tobias over a period of 10 years, during which he faces difficult battles with himself and the world around him. [37 DOK.fest Munich, Ina Borrmann]

Germany 2016, 73 min
by Gudrun Gruber

The US-Mexican border area, Arizona. The Frontier or La Frontera has always been seen as a symbol of freedom on the horizon of the American West and has always been subject to burgeoninng territorial battles. The hilly landscape of the Sonora Desert has not come to rest even today. Every year, the remains of hundreds of migrants are salvaged between the cactus forests and steppes. The advancement of new technology in border security has its effects far inland, and the people live between surveillance systems, fear of terrorism, and the already over 1,100 kilometer long borderfence – and the construction continues. The tense situation in the border area has long divided the inhabitants into two camps: the one demands more border security, the other more humanitary help.But what is the right direction? And does more security technology actually bring more security – or more deaths? This documentary film portrays life on the geographic edge of the United States, from the perspective of the desert dwellers. It accompanies locals, NGOs and paramilitaries on their ways through the border area and offers insight into the world’s largest trade fair for border security technology and industry, the Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Arizona. (HOF)

Somalia, Germany 2013, 76 min
by Andreas Wolff

After the award winning 'On the Other Side of Life', Andreas Wolff's second feature documentary unfolds the notorious hostage situation of the German container ship ‘Hansa Stavanger’. The story tells the intense relationship between the captain and the head of the Somali pirates', which evolved over the course of four months of captivity.For the making of this film the filmmaker accompanied both, the traumatized captain Krzysztof Kotiuk and the Somali Ahado, for over two years. Andy Wolff was integrated into Kotiuk’s intense psychotherapy. Moreover, with insiders’ help, the filmaker was allowed to follow the pirate's preparation of his next hijacking job. This film uncovers the unknown secrets about Somali pirates and their relationship with their hostages.