Haydn’s Head
TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY • CURRENT AFFAIRS
SCRIPTWRITER and DIRECTOR Ute Gebhardt
CAMERA Robert Neumüller
SOUND Hans Schranz
LIGHTING Ferdinand Stoiber
EDITOR Michael Schubert
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Clemens Loinger
PRODUCTION MANAGER Peter Thomsen
FORMAT HD-Cam • 16:9 • in three versions: 45 - 30 - 20 min
PRODUCED: 2008-2009
COMPLETED: October 2009
A Co-production of the German-Austrian-Swiss TV station 3Sat; the Austrian Broadcasting Company (ORF); the Austrian Ministry of Education and WEGA Film
Financial support from the Filmfonds Austria
Synopsis
One of Haydn’s last wishes was to have a first class funeral and be buried in a noble grave. Of all people, it would be Haydn who in death became a victim of the most spectacular skull theft in history.
The film begins with Haydn’s death and follows the absurd path of his skull after it is stolen from his grave. The related cultural setting and his musical genius set the stage for this mystery as modern technology begins to bring the truth to light.
The documentary traces the history of this criminal case and unravels it anew. With the help of modern Greek medical tracing methods the case might now be possible to solve.
