Ralf Höpfner & Thomas Freundner

Freundner and Höpfner met at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg. In their documentary film “Longing for Bitterfeld,” they observed the last months of the GDR and the first year of German unity. Life in the city, history and change, are presented solely through the power of images and narration. The result is a sensitive contemporary document, multi-layered, without the usual reduction of Bitterfeld to its status as an ecological crisis area.

Thomas Freundner, born 1961 in Dülmen (Westphalia), is a film director and screenwriter. Already during his studies at the HfbK Hamburg, Freundner shot several short films and documentaries. Since 1996, he has regularly directed television films commissioned by various German TV stations, including numerous Tatort episodes. He often wrote the scripts for these himself. In addition to multiple awards, he received the Grimme Prize in 2005 for his Tatort “Heart Failure” (written and directed).

Ralf Höpfner, born in Mügeln (Saxony) in 1959, is a psychologist, sociologist and consultant. In addition to working as a partner and managing director in agencies for communication, Höpfner has been self-employed since 2005 with his entrepreneurial consultancy >¡< markenfeuer. He works as a specialist in brand building and advises executives on transformation processes toward sustainability and the common good economy.