Regional Competition
The Golden Hercules awards an outstanding production from the region of Northern Hesse. The prize is endowed with €2,500.
From the 80 works that were submitted for the section, the selection committee selected 23 for the festival program and nominated 15 of them. They range from animated films, committed documentaries and experimental video works to ambitious short fiction films.
Eligible for the regional competition are works:
- whose directors reside in North Hesse, or
- whose directors are studying at the University of Kassel, the Kunsthochschule Kassel, or a comparable media institution in North Hesse, or
- which were realized and produced in Northern Hesse.
Out of all the films shown in the section Golden Hercules, a jury nominates a selection for the Golden Hercules award. It is possible for an outstanding documentary work from the section Golden Hercules to be nominated for the Golden Key competition, or rather the Golden Key award.
Jury 2025
Husein Bastouni has been studying at the Kunsthochschule Kassel since 2020. His animated works are politically charged, processing his personal experiences of war, displacement, and statelessness. His film “Where the Jasmine Always Blooms” won him the Golden Hercules Award at the 41st Kassel Dokfest and earned him a nomination for the 2025 Hessian Film Award in the short film category.
Thorsten Ebert is a founding partner of Qoncept Energy GmbH, which offers consulting services for innovative heat supply concepts. He is also managing partner of MultiMOBIL GmbH, which develops models, strategies and concepts to support the sustainable, socially and environmentally friendly development of transport. Thorsten Ebert lives in Kassel, is a board member of the Kasseler Kunstverein and the documenta Forum and has been enthusiastic about the Kassel Dokfest for many years.
Bettina Fraschke is head of the culture section of the Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine newspaper. Her main focus is on film and theatre.
Stefanie Marschner studied film studies and German language and literature at Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt. After working as a curator at the German Film Museum, on film sets, and at film festivals (Frankfurt, Oberhausen), she has been working at Hessen Film & Medien (HF&M) since 1997. She is a funding officer for documentary films, post-production, and distribution funding.
Silke Müller is an art historian and journalist. She was a member of the editorial board of the art magazine art, headed the culture section of stern magazine, and worked as a reporter in its capital office. From 2021, she headed the communications department at the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, and since February 2025, she has been responsible for communications at documenta.
Award Winners
2024 Husein Bastouni: Where the Jasmine Always Blooms
2023 Petra Stipetić, Maren Wiese: The Scent of Beetroot and the People who Live Forever
2023 Honorable Mention: Johanna Groß, Daniel Hellwig: Von dem, was bleibt
2022 Mo Harawe: Will My Parents Come to See Me
2021 Joey Arand: La sorsier kabiné
2020 Manuel Domes, Jean Claire Dy: A House in Pieces
2019 Franziska Wank: sunday morning
2018 Frauke Lodders: Inseparable
2017 Jonatan Schwenk: Sog
2016 Christian Wittmoser: Emily Must Wait
2015 Zuniel Kim: Der Langstreckenläufer
2014 Martin Schmidt: Emil
2013 Benjamin Brix, Steffen Martin, Felix M. Ott: EMPTYLANDS
2012 Jan Riesenbeck: Sechster Sinn, drittes Auge, zweites Gesicht
2011 Dennis Stein-Schomburg: Andersartig
2010 Olaf Saumer: Suicide Club
2009 Thomas Majewski: Verborgen in Schnuttenbach
2008 Nico Sommer: Stiller Frühling
2007 Marta Malowanczyk: Marla
2006 Hyekung Jung: Drawing the Line
2005 Matthias Stockloew (Ütz): Grosse Kinder
2004 Héctor Jesús Gutiérrez Rodriguez: Ese es mi chama? Das ist mein Junge
2003 Salah Ahmed El Oulidi: Die Andalusische Nacht
2002 Christoph Steinau: Kommt alles Anders
2001 Holger Ernst: Kleine Fische