East Fresia 1401: the era of the feared sea pirates Klaus Störtebeker and Gödeke Michels is coming to an end. After a long period with no booty at last a bulging ship appears on the horizon. However, Störtebeker is badly wounded in the attempted capture and the pirates suffer ignominious defeat. Not only their ship is down the drain – Störtebeker himself is suddenly plagued by anxiety and doubt about his very existence as a pirate. He is drawn to the beautiful country girl Bille, while Michels gets rebuffed by the friesian princess Okka. In the very moment that the crew have mutinied and co-captain Michels is literally at the end of his tether, they discover on board their ramshackle old tub a most unique wonder weapon. Glory days are quickly revived – until the mighty Hanse consolidate their power and weaponry and go to war against the pirates. Störtebeker and Michels are forced to decide: To live as a farmer or to die as a pirate. –IMDb

Director

Sven Taddicken

Sven Taddicken, born 1974 in Hamburg, studied in the departments of directing and feature film at Baden-Württemberg Film Academy in Ludwigsburg from 1996 to 2002. During his time at the film academy, Taddicken already finished several award-winning films, including the 15-minute long film “El Cordobes” that won the German Short Film Award at the 1999 Dresden Film Festival, among other awards. One year later, Taddicken finished “Schäfchen zählen” (“Counting Sheep”), another short film, that won a nomination for the 2000 Student Academy Awards.

In 2001, Taddicken finished his first feature-length film “Mein Bruder der Vampir” (“Getting My Brother Laid”) that also won several awards and starred Julia Jentsch, Alexander Scheer, and Marie-Luise Schramm. The film tells the story of a mentally handicapped young man who discovers his sexuality. Taddicken’s graduation film at Film Academy, “Einfach so bleiben” (“Stay Like This”), won the German Short Film Award in Gold. In 2004, Taddicken… read more

Sven Taddicken, born 1974 in Hamburg, studied in the departments of directing and feature film at Baden-Württemberg Film Academy in Ludwigsburg from 1996 to 2002. During his time at the film academy, Taddicken already finished several award-winning films, including the 15-minute long film “El Cordobes” that won the German Short Film Award at the 1999 Dresden Film Festival, among other awards. One year later, Taddicken finished “Schäfchen zählen” (“Counting Sheep”), another short film, that won a nomination for the 2000 Student Academy Awards.

In 2001, Taddicken finished his first feature-length film “Mein Bruder der Vampir” (“Getting My Brother Laid”) that also won several awards and starred Julia Jentsch, Alexander Scheer, and Marie-Luise Schramm. The film tells the story of a mentally handicapped young man who discovers his sexuality. Taddicken’s graduation film at Film Academy, “Einfach so bleiben” (“Stay Like This”), won the German Short Film Award in Gold. In 2004, Taddicken received a scholarship for Berlin’s Akademie der Künste. Since then, he is also a member of Deutsche Filmakademie. His second feature film “Emmas Glück” (“Emma’s Bliss”) received mainly positive reviews, won awards at several international film festivals as well as four nominations for the German Film Award. Furthermore, leading actor Jürgen Vogel won the Bavarian Film Award for his performance in the film. After “Emma’s Glück”, Taddicken participated in the omnibus films “Jung, frech, verliebt” and “1. Mai” (“Berlin – 1st of May”, both 2006) and directed the TV crime film “Braams: Kein Mord ohne Leiche” (2008). In 2009, Sven Taddicken returned to the movie screen with his third feature-length film, the elaborate historical drama “Zwölf Meter ohne Kopf” (“13 Paces Without a Head”) about the adventures of the legendary pirates Klaus Störtebeker and Gödeke Michels. Sven Taddicken lives and works in Berlin and in Hamburg. —Filmportal.de

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