The media call their son the “patient killer.” He was given a life sentence for his numerous crimes. Life goes on for his parents Ulla and Didi Högel but nothing is the same as before. They must accept the bitter truth, figure out how to cope with everyday life and reposition themselves in relation to their child.
Katharina Köster – Director
Katharina Köster, born 1984, trained as a ballet dancer. In 2017, she finished her studies in Screenwriting and Documentary Film at HFF Munich. Her first documentary film NACH DEM HAPPY END (AFTER THE HAPPY END) was premiered at DOK.fest Munich 2022 and screend as a mini series on TV. She has been writing new episodes for the successful TV series PUMUCKL since 2021.
Katrin Nemec – Director
Katrin Nemec, born 1980, studied Dramatics, Modern German Literature and Sociology at LMU Munich since 2000, finishing her master’s degree, after which she went on to study Documentary Film at HFF Munich. Her graduate film VOM LIEBEN UND STERBEN (ON LOVING AND DYING) was awarded the Bavarian Television Award and nominated for the German Documentary Film Award as well as the Studio Hamburg Newcomer Award.
Director's Statement
At the start of our project, we focused on the conflict of parents maintaining contact with their child despite the child's unforgivable guilt. We never planned to involve the Högel family, whose son is one of Germany's most notorious serial killers. Accordingly, it was important to us to resist any sensationalism and not to tell the perpetrators story again. We are choosing a new perspective, that prevents viewers from distancing themselves and morally judging the parents, but demands their empathy.