Gentle | Raindance Film Festival

Discovery Award Nominee, Best Performance Nominee
In person Q&A with Directors László Csuja & Anna Nemes.

Edina is an award-winning bodybuilder, strong enough to carry a grown man without breaking a sweat or take down a pig for slaughter on her father’s farm. But her tough, muscular body houses a gentle soul, prepared to sacrifice all to help her ex-bodybuilder partner and trainer Ádám vicariously relive his glory days of winning world championships. When she takes up escort work to pay for the steroids that are slowly killing her, Edina falls in love with a client and dreams of a different life.

The creative elements – from acting, directing and cinematography to editing and music – are subtle and understated, coming together as a beautifully executed film. Real-life bodybuilder Eszter Csonka is superb as the troubled Edina, saying little in words, but conveying a world of emotion with her incredibly expressive face.

Gentle offers a rare glimpse of the torturous work involved in competitive bodybuilding and explores the concomitant sacrifice of things like family, which others take for granted. The world of women’s bodybuilding turns out to be a man’s world, with Edina’s boyfriend getting all the credit for her wins. As Edina gives up everything for the perfect muscular body, her stoicism is mindboggling when a photographer tells her: “You look great. You’re very lucky”.

5 November 2022, 2:00 pm
Curzon Soho
More info and tickets are available HERE.