Experiencing Interruptions?

Hercules

Hercules travels from Krefeld on the Lower Rhine by bicycle to Mount Olympus, the throne of ancient deities. In the process, the Hercules myth, as a primordial myth of male efficacy, is questioned through biographical reflections and stagings of mythological echoes. The dramaturgical structure of the hero's journey disintegrates in a multimaterial perspective into questions about male identity, ideals and repentance.

  • Felix Bartke
    Director
    Cruiser
  • Nils Ramme
    Director
    Cruiser
  • Felix Bartke
    Producer
  • Nils Ramme
    Producer
  • Fabian Martin Anger
    Producer
  • Fabian Martin Anger
    Director of Photography
    Cruiser, LE MÉTÈQUE, Katalin's Ballad
  • Maximilian Blass
    Sound Design Supervisor
    Cruiser, Katalin's Ballad
  • Valentin Idel
    Sound Design
  • Iraklis Karousiotis
    Key Cast
    "Herkules"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Herkules
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Mythological, 16mm, Supernatural, Hybrid
  • Runtime:
    23 minutes 10 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 1, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy
  • Language:
    German
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, 16mm, Actioncam
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Academy of Media Arts Cologne
  • 69. International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
    Oberhausen
    Germany
    April 28, 2023
    World Premiere
  • Short Film Corner - Festival de Cannes
    Cannes
    France
    May 21, 2023
  • Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin (shortlisted)
  • 31. Blicke Filmfestival des Ruhrgebiets
    Bochum
    Germany
  • 28. Filmfestival Schleswig Holstein
    Kiel
    Germany
  • International Shortfilm Day 2023: Filmforum Museum Ludwig
    Cologne
    Germany
    December 21, 2023
  • Open Air Filmfest Wiesbaden
    wiesbaden
    Germany
Director Biography - Felix Bartke, Nils Ramme

Nils Ramme grew up in Berlin, where he studied theater studies and worked as an assistant of renowned director Rosa von Praunheim. Felix Bartke grew up in Neuss and worked in various film- and television productions in cologne until he became assistent to female artist duo Gossing/Sieckmann.
Nils Ramme and Felix Bartke have been studying at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne since 2017.
Since 2020 they share an artistic practice, which so far has resulted in the short films "Cruiser" (2022) and "Hercules" (2023).
"Cruiser" has been shown internationally and broadcasted( Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen; Clermont-Ferrand; St. Louis International Film Festival, Missouri, Landshuter Kurzfilmtage, FECI Bogota, WDR-shortfilm night) and was awarded the "Queer- and Genderprice 2022" by the "blicke Filmfestival" (Bochum, Germany).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"Wherever heroes appear, the question is who needs them and why."
We met Hercules Karousiotis during the shooting of our last joint work "Cruiser" from 2022. Hercules approached us after the shoot and asked if we would also like to make a film about his journey by bicycle to his homeland Greece.
We saw it as an occasion to let Hercules' journey become reflexive, and to tell a documentary hero's journey on the example of the primordial myth of male efficacy.

By contrasting and complementing different materials and cinematic modes, we hope to open up a space of reflection in which the cracks and contradictions of becoming a male subject in patriarchy can be revealed.
Thus, we were interested in the striking parallels with Hercules Karousiotis´ biography and the mythological figure of Hercules that guided us through the filming process. As Hercules himself says, "I have a kindred spirit with the mythological Hercules".
Where does this kinship of souls come from, and does it run as inevitably toward disaster as Heracles in mythology is doomed to pain, loneliness and remorse? Are men today, if they can't find ways to break with patriarchal structures within themselves, doomed to pain, loneliness and remorse?

We can draw many conclusions by looking into the past and relating it to the present. For us, "Hercules" is a heroic film that questions heroism itself, in a crisis-ridden time in which the call for "heroic deeds" from the most diverse political camps is becoming ever louder .