Comissioned work
Die Weltherrschaft / Le Gran Complot
Director: Fritz Ofner
Screenplay: Michael Lenzinger & Fritz Ofner
Director of Photography: Philipp König
Creative Direction: Michael Lenzinger
Animations: Elias Stern
Editor: Christoph Loidl
Music: Siegfried Friedrich
Produced by Junge Römer / Metafilm
Broadcasted by ARTE, ORF, BR, SRF
Manipulated elections, chemtrails, climate change being a hoax, staged terrorist attacks, total surveillance and fake news dominate discussions in “real life” as well as in social media. There’s evidence of a controlled demolition of the twin towers, French secret services are behind the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the moon landing was a fake anyhow – to cite just some common theories.
The 70-minute documentary addresses these conspiratorial attempts of explaining the world and asks many questions: How do conspiracy theories and fake news come into existence in the age of social media? How are they distributed and who profits from them? What do they tell us about ourselves and the time we live in? In search of answers, leading conspiracy theorists, historians, philosophers, psychologists, network theorists and fake news producers are visited in numerous locations like Paris, Vienna, New York and Skopje and placed into a dialectic discourse. Several animatic sequences and an ambient soundtrack provide the film with an exceptional arc of suspense.
Franz Grabner Award for Best TV Documentary 2018:
Die Weltherrschaft by Fritz Ofner
From the Jury’s Statement:
“The winning film in the category of TV Documentary addresses one of the central issues of our time: how we deal with news, the desire for simplification, and the search for truth in an increasingly complex world. It approaches this topic in a way that is not only innovative and enlightening, but also courageous in its willingness to present contradictory, even opposing viewpoints side by side.
In doing so, the film leaves it to the viewers to navigate these perspectives and empowers the audience to sharpen its awareness of manipulation, prejudice, conspiracy theories, fear-mongering, and populist rhetoric. This commitment to critical inquiry extends to media self-criticism and self-reflection, while at the same time highlighting the important role that television—and documentary filmmaking in particular—can play in fostering a critical understanding of media discourse.”
Moldova - Lost in Transition
A film by Fritz Ofner and Gerald Knaus
A 2012, 52 min.
Part of ORF’s BALKAN EXPRESS documentary series:
MOLDOWA LOST IN TRANSITION is a portrait of Moldava, Europe’s poorest country, and its struggle to find an autonomous identity somewhere between the EU and Russia. The film provides a fascinating look at a rich and unspoiled culture which is for the most part unknown beyond the country’s borders.
Director: Fritz Ofner
Script: Gerald Knaus
Photography: Christian Haake Fritz Ofner Dominik Spritzendorfer
Sound: Peter Kutin
Editor: Max Kliewer
Producers: Markus Glaser, Michael Kitzberger, Wolfgang Widerhofer, Nikolaus Geyrhalter
Production: NGF – Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion GmbH
in coproduction with: ORF
an initiative of ERSTE Stiftung
in cooperation with ESI – European Stability Initiative
with support of:
Fernsehfonds Austria / RTR
Croatia, Europe and the Twilight of Heroes
A film by Fritz Ofner and Gerald Knaus
A 2012, 52 min.
Part of ORF’s BALKAN EXPRESS documentary series:
After Yugoslavia’s breakup, Croatia was torn apart by fighting, and Serbian troops occupied a considerable portion of the country’s territory. Croatian forces were then able to retake it by 1995, and the country was considered a victor of the war. A caste of politicians around President Tudjman made him out to be the father of the nation.
But just a short time later, the reality of Europe caught up with the war heroes: The international court in The Hague brought charges for war crimes and large-scale expulsions of the Serbian population, and extradition of the responsible parties was made the main criterion for Croatian EU membership.
The film tells the story of these godfathers of the nation – and how the forces working for a civil society struggle to deal with this blood-stained past.
Director: Fritz Ofner
Script: Gerald Knaus
Photography: Christian Haake, Fritz Ofner
Sound: Atanas Tcholakov, Peter Kutin
Editor: Max Kliewer
Producers: Markus Glaser, Michael Kitzberger, Wolfgang Widerhofer, Nikolaus Geyrhalter
Production: NGF – Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion GmbH
in coproduction with: ORF
an initiative of ERSTE Stiftung
in cooperation with ESI – European Stability Initiative
with support of:
Fernsehfonds Austria / RTR
Musik-Therapie: Beirut wacht auf
TV Beitrag, ORF-Kulturmontag, 06/2010
HipHop gegen Kriegstraumata
Beirut vibriert im Rhythmus des Wiederaufbaus.
In diesem Klima der ständigen ethnischen und konfessionellen Spannungen ist in den letzten Jahren eine innovative und leidenschaftliche Musikszene entstanden.
Gestaltung und Kamera: Fritz Ofner
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec sit amet condimentum nunc. Phasellus ornare faucibus purus, eu euismod nibh fringilla eu. Sed lacus urna, volutpat tempus venenatis ut, congue ut ipsum. Etiam tempus lacus sed nunc sollicitudin posuere. Proin vestibulum efficitur suscipit. Pellentesque in lacus odio. Curabitur sollicitudin fermentum gravida.
Etiam interdum blandit orci nec tempus. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Pellentesque viverra urna mauris, eget malesuada neque semper a. Nunc in consequat elit. Aliquam erat volutpat. Sed non ante ligula. Donec id ipsum ipsum.
In non mauris ac urna venenatis rhoncus vel nec lectus. Ut ligula nisi, consectetur nec varius ut, ultrices ut massa. Curabitur sollicitudin dignissim erat id varius. Aenean vestibulum nisl et velit finibus viverra. Vivamus quis lectus ipsum. Nunc gravida aliquet quam nec faucibus. Aenean egestas tempor sagittis. Cras tempus est eu libero molestie, a ullamcorper ex ornare. Proin et hendrerit neque. Praesent volutpat arcu sit amet lorem condimentum, vel ornare eros blandit. Sed eu sollicitudin lacus, ut rhoncus erat. Mauris rhoncus sit amet risus in aliquet. Nulla at neque ipsum. Ut ut congue dolor, at congue lacus.
Praesent semper leo est. Proin tempus arcu in ligula ultricies euismod. Sed non diam dapibus, ultricies urna quis, rutrum orci. Duis eu ullamcorper leo. In tristique velit consequat dui pharetra cursus. Pellentesque quis vehicula sem, vitae laoreet lectus. Vestibulum viverra volutpat tincidunt. Ut varius purus et quam varius, sagittis elementum erat consectetur. Quisque tincidunt aliquam gravida. Praesent hendrerit lectus a elit molestie, ac posuere orci auctor. Sed dui felis, fermentum id porttitor ut, luctus eget dui. Mauris eget ex lectus. Donec at tristique nisl. Vestibulum id lorem est.
Phasellus ac eleifend felis. Pellentesque sagittis ullamcorper risus, non ultrices elit egestas id. Aenean finibus augue nunc, tristique ornare nulla feugiat eu. Mauris sodales ut velit in tempus. Aliquam feugiat nulla augue. Morbi iaculis id lacus in fermentum. Curabitur nec massa vel nisl feugiat suscipit nec ut ex. Mauris quis diam sed urna aliquet euismod.