Petra Stipetić and Maren Wiese are graduates of the Kunsthochschule Kassel and work as freelance animation artists. Their twelve-minute animated film »Vom Duft der roten Bete und den Menschen, die ewig leben« (The scent of beet and people who live forever) takes us into a pink beetroot universe and poses the big questions: What color is eternal life and what is the scent of death? How does immortality help us in the face of all the hardships of the plane of life?
The Golden Hercules, endowed with 3,500 euros, honors an outstanding film production from northern Hesse at the Kassel Dokfest. At this year's edition, which took place from November 14 to 19, 17 works were nominated for the competition from 135 submissions in various genres. The Golden Hercules is sponsored by Machbar GmbH, an advertising and design agency based in Kassel.
An honorable mention at the award ceremony was also given to »Von dem, was bleibt« (Of what remains) by Kassel director Johanna Groß, in which the director sets off in search of her great-grandfather, who went missing during the Second World War. »Von dem, was bleibt« was funded by us in 2020 as a special graduation film with 20,000 euros.
Both films were nominated for the Hessian Film and Cinema Award in the category »Best Graduation Film« in 2023.
The Kassel Dokfest continues to take place in hybrid form. Both films are still available to stream at DokfestOnline until November 26.