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Protected Men

GER 2024, 104 min

Germany, shortly before elections – a mysterious disease outbreak afflicting only men strikes. Differences between the sexes long believed to have been overcome re-emerge, shaking society to its core.

Synopsis

Germany, shortly before elections. Anita Martinelli and Sarah Bedford are pursuing grand political goals with their newly founded women’s party FEM. They are campaigning for a new system in which ecology, equality and sustainability have top priority. Yet during the election campaign, a new kind of disease breaks out, infecting only men. Differences between the sexes long believed to have been overcome now shake the very foundations of the society. When the chancellor falls victim to the virus, women take over the government. Anita Martinelli’s husband Ralph, an experienced virologist, is to develop a vaccine against the virus with his team in a remote, well-guarded forest laboratory. While the self-proclaimed chancellor Bedford secretly boycotts the work on the vaccine, Anita Martinelli and a group of other women decide to stop the repressive government’s plans. A counter-movement forms, fueled by a strong utopian desire for a better society. They rescue Ralph Martinelli and the other “protected men” in a spectacular escape from the lab and bring him and the serum to safety. The last surviving men are successfully vaccinated and the man-hating chancellor is toppled. With the remaining men, the women start over, endeavoring to create a better future.

Aktuell

BEST FILM IN TALLIN! Irene von Alberti wins the Rebels with a Cause - Competition.
"An accessible film that immediately unravels the harsh reality of violence against women as the simplest of premises. When the male sexual desire is a threat towards men’s lives instead of women’s. Injecting comedy and satire as the antidote to the temptation of power that blinds us to the extreme consequences of unresolved hatred." - Tallinn Black Nights Jury Award Statement

PROTECTED MEN now in cinemas
- Distributor: Filmgalerie 451, Sales: Filmperlen
All movie tour dates will be updated regularly, visit > Filmstarts.de

Bautzen: Bautzener Burgfilmnächte 17.6.-15.7.
Brandenburg an der Havel: St. Johanneskirche 26.6. (20:00)
Hilden: Lux Lichtspiele 10.9. (19:30)



- Preview at the Filmfest FrauenWelten (Terre des Femmes) in Berlin, at the cinema in the KulturBrauerei (October 25, October 29, 2024)
- World premiere at the
Filmfest München (Munich International Film Festival) in the "New German Cinema" section (July 1 Filmtheater Sendlinger Tor,  July 2 City-Atelier Cinemas, July 6 HFF Munich)
- Preview at the Filmkunstmesse in Leipzig (September 19 (Passage Kinos), September 19

- Rebels with a Cause Competition Winner 2024 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
International premiere on 19th Nov with Irene von Alberti (Director, Screenwriter), Frieder Schlaich (Producer), Britta Hammelstein (Cast)

"A biting political satire about power, oppression, and sexual stereotypes.
Ecology, equality, sustainability: Anita and Sarah pursue lofty political goals as they establish a new feminist party. By contrast, the men who are infected by a new type of virus tend to have less honorable intentions. The consequences: sexual obsession, molestation, and death. Urgent effort is put into developing a vaccine. But should the male sex be saved at all?" (Filmfest München)

Awards and Festivals

- Filmfest München (Munich International Film Festival) 2024
- Filmkunstmesse in Leipzig 2024
- Filmfest FrauenWelten (Terre des Femmes) 2024
- Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival - The Rebels with a Cause Competition Winner 2024
- Queer Film Week in Leipzig 2025
-
San Francisco Independent Film Festival 2025
- Prokino à Vendôme 2025

Credits

Directed and written by
Irene von Alberti
With
Britta Hammelstein, Mavie Hörbiger, Yousef Sweid, Bibiana Beglau, Godehard Giese, Julika Jenkins, Michaela Caspar, Johanna Polley, Sina Martens, Ruby Commey, Bastian Reiber, Timo Fakhravar, Roland Bonjour, Mathias Max Herrmann
Casting Director
Ulrike Müller
Director of Photography
Constantin Campean
Editor
Patricia Rommel
Music
Karim Sebastian Elias
Scenography
Sylvester Koziolek
Art Director
Mirko Rachor
Costumes
Aino Laberenz
Chief Make-up Artist
Julia Böhm
Sound Operator, Sound Design
Rainer Gerlach
Sound Mix
Matthias Schwab
Commissioning Editor​s
Alexandra Staib (ZDF), Martin Gerhard (ZDF / ARTE), Claudia Tronnier (ARTE)
Co-producer
Monika Treut, Céline Maugis
Producer
Frieder Schlaich
Produced by
Filmgalerie 451
In Coproduction with
ZDF/arte (Martin Gerhard, Alexandra Staib, Claudia Tronnier)
Script founded by
Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM)
Developement founded by
Ciclic-Région Centre-Val de Loire
Production founded by
Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM), Deutscher Filmförderfonds (DFFF), Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM)

1st Assistant Director
Inga Köhler
2nd Assistant Director
Leila Knörr
3rd Assistant Director
Paula Buchta
Production Manager
Gernot Sprenger
Production Assistant
Anna Bitter
Unit Manager
Yurdakul Peksen
Location Manager
Alexandra Koch
Location Assistant
Andreas Reischl
Set Manager
Kai Guballa
Set Manager Assistant
David Schlichter
Production Trainees
Luisa Neininger, Julian Wonn
1st Camera Assistant
Kolja Seibold
2nd Camera Assistant
Sarah Alisch
Videooperator
Leoni Faschian
Data Wrangler
Till Beckmann
Gaffer
Holger Ohlhus
Bestboy
Merlin Luong
Electrician
Timon Dangel
Scenography Assistant
Lisa Mary Kracke, Julia Heiser
Prop Buyer
David Eder
Prop Buyer Assistant
Carsten Ahrens
Stand by Props
Marcel Ruben Schoen
Stand by Props Assistant
Carolin Annett Meyer
1st Costume Assistant
Coco Hittinger
Wardrobe Mistress
Melissa Roxanne Hebold, Carmen Abele
Additional Wardrobe
Natalie Uhlstein, Monique van den Bulck, Elisa Bernhard, Olivier Mohringe, Sarah Spitta
Costume Trainee
Jule Schlaich
Make-up Artists
Anna Evenkamp, Lena Brendle
Key Grip
Dustin John
Best Boy Grip
Yukon Benner, Matthias Schröter
Boom Operator
Henning Krutein, Oskar von Gilgenheimb, Filippo Toso
Stunt Supervisor
Billy Buff (Buff Connection)
Stunt Coordination
Dani Stein
Assistants to Editor 
Jil Lange, Julia Dupuis, Paul Gröbel
Title Animation
Tien-Kun Lai
End Credits, Motion Grafic Design
Kathrin Krottenthaler
Postproduction Sound 
The Post Republic
Inhouse Producer
Petra Kader-Göbel
Technische Leitung Ton
Markus Wurster
Ton-Endfertigung
Maxim Romasevich
Foleys
Martin Langenbach
Postproduction Image
PHAROS - The Post Group, Josef Reidinger, Peter Gerckens
Key Account Manager
Angela Reedwisch, Katharina Deltow
Abteilungsleitung Imaging
Kenneth Hecker-Stiller
Projektbetreuung Imaging
Viktoria Janssen
Technical Supervisor Imaging
Patrick Heck
Colorist
Christine Hiam
DI & Conforming Engineer
Jasper Brandt
Mastering & QC
Kay-Uwe Schuchert, Tobias Weber
VFX
Flapper‘s
VFX Supervisor
Andreas Clemens
VFX Set-Supervisor
Denis Krez
Compositing Artists
Johannes Riemann, Yannic Pröger
German Theatrical Release
12/12/2024
World Premiere
Filmfest München, 07/01/2024

DVD-Details

Extras
Interview with Irene von Alberti, outtake, photo gallery/work photo, trailer, poster (A3), reversible cover
Language
German
Subtitles
German (SDH), English, French
Country Code
0
System
PAL, Color 
Length
100 min + 11 min Extras
Aspect Ratio
16:9 (2.35:1)
Sound Format
Dolby Digital 2.0 + 5.1 + AD
Set Content
Softbox (Set Content: 1)
Release Date
24.04.2025
Rating (FSK - DE)
From 12 Years

Distribution Details

Screening Format
DCP (2K, 24fps, 5.1)
Blu-ray Disc
Aspect Ratio
2.35:1, Cinema Scope
Language
German
Subtitles
English
Promotion Material
Poster (A1), Trailer
www.filmpresskit.de
License Area
Worldwide
Rating
From 12 years
Distribution
Filmgalerie 451
Booking
FILMPERLEN