REinvent International Sales has picked up the psychological drama, HERCULES FALLING by upcoming director Christian Bonke. The film will start shooting this spring on location in the remote, picturesque island of Strynø and is produced by Amalie Lyngbo Quist for Beo Starling.
HERCULES FALLING is Christian Bonke’s feature debut. He has co-written the script with Marianne Lentz (The Great Silence, 2023).
“It is truly a dream come true for me to work with Dar Salim for my feature film debut. There is no one like him who possesses a raw masculinity and at the same time a sensitivity and vulnerability that spills over the screen to us. Dar is a former soldier himself, and perhaps that’s why he’s able to connect with the real veterans of the cast so naturally. On a deeper level, the film also deals with masculinity, where the soldier appears as the archetype of the man who is driven to maintain his self-image of being strong and vigorous. But when he breaks, how does he then choose to deal with his vulnerability?” Says director Christian Bonke.
HERCULES FALLING deals with the rough and important subject matter of war veterans and mental trauma with highly acclaimed actor, Dar Salim in the lead among a cast of real war veterans.
Dar Salim’s work in Scandinavia includes ”Borgen” (2010 -), ”A War” (2015) award winning Darkland 1 and 2 and the lead as Kommisar in several episodes of the German series ”Tatort” (2023). In 2023, he featured in the Berlinale selected series, ”Agent” and most recently, he starred in Gustav Möller’s Berlinale Competition film ”Sons” (2024).
His English speaking roles include Ridley Scott’s “Exodus” (2014), season one of “Game of Thrones” (2011) and “The Covenant” (2023) among others. He recently finished working on the first season of Guy Ritchie’s “The Gentlemen” (2024), where he stars alongside Theo James and Giancarlo Esposito.
Dar Salim states: “When I first read the script for HERCULES FALLING, I found the subject matter particularly interesting and important because of the time we live in today, where the amount of information we are exposed to, often overshadow the real substance of the newsflow. The point of view for this story gives a voice to the war veterans and their families, who suffer the real consequences of war and its affects the rest of their lives, whereas we as a society have already moved on to the next news story.”
Synopsis
Youssef, a battle-worn veteran, is haunted by the aftermath of combat, wrestling with mental health challenges and strained family ties. Sent to a veteran rehabilitation retreat on the remote island of Strynø, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery, connecting with fellow veterans and committing to therapy. Despite making progress, Youssef realises that repairing his fractured family bonds may be impossible. With his hope shattered the only thing left is the military brotherhood. But is he ready to completely let go of his son?
HERCULES FALLING is produced by Beo Starling by producer Amalie Lyngbo Quist, in co-production with Heimathafen Film (Germany), with support from The Danish Film Institute, DR, FilmFyn and Creative Europe. Scanbox will distribute the film in the Nordics. REinvent handles international sales.
The film is expected to premiere in Q1 2025.