Army of Lovers tells the untold epic saga of the Sacred Band, an elite force of 150 pairs of male lovers who became the most formidable warriors of the ancient world.
This Greek army was formed by the city of Thebes in 379 BCE to defend itself from Sparta. Fighting for four decades undefeated, it was annihilated by the forces of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander, in the Battle of Chaeronea.
Buried on the battlefield where they fell, the 300 were forgotten by history, until a 19th century excavation uncovered their mass grave. However, the discovery was never published, and the evidence was lost.
Now, a groundbreaking new investigation brings their story to light. A team of archaeologists, historians, and forensic scientists uncovers what truly happened on the battlefield, reconstructing the lives of these warriors and challenging long-held assumptions about love, masculinity, and military might in the ancient world. Army of Lovers is both a thrilling historical mystery and a powerful exploration of the history of homosexuality, and the enduring consequences of war.
A film by Lefteris Charitos.
Trailer
Credits
Cast Reenactment
Stamatakis: Yorgos Symeonidis
Documentation
90 Min. / 52 Min. / 45 Min.
Director: Lefteris Charitos
Screenplay: Danielle Proskar, Rea Apostolides
Producers: Jakob Pochlatko (EPO-Film), Dieter Pochlatko (EPO-Film), Rea Apostolides (Anemon), Yuri Averof (Anemon)
Line Producer: Heinrich Mayer-Moroni
Executive Producers: Franziska Kiefmann (EPO-Film), Mary Ignatiadis (Anemon)
Director of Photography: Carlos Muñoz Gómez-Quintero, Harald Staudach
Sound: Aris Kafetzis, Manolis Makridakis, Giannis Antypas, Michael Strohmann, Maurizio Massa, Fedon Ktenas
Animations: Benjamin Swiczinsky, Effie Pappa, Panayiotis Pantazis
Music Composer: Christof Unterberger
Editing: Yuri Averof
Set & Costume Designer: Alexia Theodorakis
Make Up: Elina Trantou, Zois Triantafyllou
Narrator: Jean-Marc Barr
Commissioning Editors: Hans Wu (ORF), Peter Allenbacher (ZDF/ARTE)
among others
produced in: 2024, 2025
first broadcasted: tbc
a co-production by EPO-Film, ANEMON Productions, ORF, ZDF, ERT, ZDFinfo
in association with ARTE, ZED
with the financial support of FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIA, CREATIVE EUROPE, CREATIVE GREECE, GREECE 2.0
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