ARMY OF LOVERS

ARMY OF LOVERS

The Sacred Band of Ancient Greece

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1088717234?share=copy

Teaser: https://youtu.be/zkADVNJb3mw

Website: https://www.anemon.gr/film/army-of-lovers/

Army of Lovers, tells the epic saga of the Sacred

Band of Thebes, an elite force of 150 pairs of male

lovers, who became the most formidable warriors of

the ancient world.

A team of leading international archaeologists and

historians re-examines newly uncovered evidence and

gains unprecedented insight into the story of the

Sacred Band. Their findings challenge us to revise our

understanding of Ancient Greece and our perceptions

of heroism, gender and love across time.

The film is directed by Lefteris Charitos, produced by

Anemon (Greece) and Epo-Film (Austria), and is a co-

production with ERT, ZDF / ARTE and ORF in

association with SBS, Hearst Networks, History Italy,

TV5 Québec and co-funded by the Hellenic Film &

Audiovisual Centre, Fernsehfonds Austria and Creative

Europe. It is distributed by ZED.

About the film:

The Sacred Band was formed by the city of Thebes in 379 BCE to end Spartan domination.

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 pioneer archaeologist Panayiotis Stamatakis

discovered the mass grave in 1880.

Stamatakis never published his findings and the grave was covered up, leading somehistorians to claim that the Sacred Band never existed. It was only in 2019 that a missing

skeleton was found in the basement of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, as well

as the excavation logs with detailed drawings of the mass grave: they depicted an army of

300 men likely lying in pairs, their arms linked together.

Directed by Lefteris Charitos, Army of Lovers uses forensic archaeological research, unique

archive, ancient artworks and animation to tell the story of the rise and fall of the Sacred

Band and reveal the enduring relevance of antiquity in contemporary culture. Historian James

Romm (Bard College, USA) is the film’s historical advisor.

The film’s central characters are scholars that comment and interpret the recently found

evidence, including archaeologist and skeletal biologist Maria Liston (University of Waterloo,

Canada) and contributors John Ma (Univ. of Columbia), Paul Cartledge (Univ. of Cambridge),

Reine-Marie Berard (French National Centre for Scientific Research), Peter Krentz (Davidson

College), Thierry Lucas (Collège De Marly), Jennifer Ingleheart (Durham University) and

Panagiotis Iossif (Museum of Cycladic Art/Radboud University, Nijmegen).

About the Director:

Lefteris Charitos is a fiction and documentary director. He studied film at the Royal College of

Art in London. He is best known for the successful historical drama series Wild Bees (ANT1

TV 2019–2022) and The Witch (ANT1 TV 2023–2025).

His feature documentary Dolphin Man (2017) received the IRIS Awards for Best Documentary

and Best Debut Director in 2018. It was featured in several international film festivals

including CPH:DOX, Tokyo, Angers, and Vancouver, and had a successful theatrical release in

Greece, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Japan, and Canada.

Lefteris has directed numerous documentary series for Greek television, such as Rescued-in-

Time (Cosmote TV), and has co-directed the series The Journey of Food (SKAI TV) and 1821

(SKAI TV).

Since October 2022, he has been serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic

Film Academy.

About Anemon Productions:

The company was founded in 2003, in Athens, Greece, bringing together the expertise of

Greek filmmakers, producers and media professionals. Special focus is given to projects

promoting inter-cultural and historical understanding across Europe, human rights and

sustainable living. Anemon is a member company of the Documentary Campus, based in

Munich and Berlin.Recent documentaries include Thessaloniki Mermaid Award and Greek Film Centre Award

winner “Lesvia“, the Greek-French-Spanish-Korean co-production”The Perfect Meal“, the

landmark natural history series by Boréales “Mediterranean, Life Under Siege” (France

Televisions, BBC studios), “A Marble Travelogue” which premiered in competition at IDFA

2021, Focal Award winner “Antoine the Fortunate” (ORF, Cosmote TV, Histoire TV, CNC) and

Greek BIFF Oscar contender “When Tomatoes Met Wagner” (Cosmote TV, Greek Film Centre).

In parallel, cross-media projects and exhibitions Foodprint, Twice a Stranger, A Balkan Tale,

War & Peace in the Balkans and Metsovo 1900 produced with leading museums, foundations

and educational institutions in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Cyprus and

the Balkans, have sought to influence public perceptions of the Ottoman Empire across the

Balkans, by using recent historical research to help resolve political conflict. Cross-media

exhibition History Lost traced the looting of archaeological sites around the world,

demonstrating how objects lose their historic value when taken out of their native setting.

Our latest cross-media project, Foodprint, is a photography exhibition and educational

programme about the Mediterranean Diet and why it is relevant to our lives today.

Since 2009, Anemon co-organises CineDoc and Cinedoc Kids, an innovative public media

initiative, screening award winning documentaries that can impact our lives.

https://www.anemon.gr/

https://www.instagram.com/anemon.productions/

https://www.facebook.com/anemon.productions

https://www.instagram.com/cinedoc/

https://www.facebook.com/CineDoc/

___

Eventbrite processes data (including any personal data you may submit by responding to this invitation) outside of the European Economic Area. Please only submit any personal data which you are happy to have processed in this way, and in accordance with Eventbrite’s privacy policy applicable to attendees (available here: Eventbrite Privacy Policy | Eventbrite Help Centre). If you prefer not to use Eventbrite for responding to this invitation, you may respond directly to torch@humanities.ox.ac.uk.