Hungarian film enters Oscar’s premier. No Hungarian movie has ever made it to the Sundance Film Festival, but Gentle has.
The movie starring Eszter Csonka, world bodybuilding champion, was made by László Csuja and Anna Nemes, and the premiere will be held in a very special place. “Gentle” will compete at the Sundance Film Festival (often referred to as Oscar‘s premiere) and will have its world premiere in January.
The film is co-directed by László Csuja, director of the Karlovy Vary award-winning “Blossom Valley”, and Anna Nemes, a doctoral student in painting at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts. The protagonist of the “body melodrama” is Eszter Csonka, a world champion and multiple Hungarian champion in bodybuilding. In addition to presenting her unique life situation, the filmmakers also aim to bring the viewer closer to the protagonist’s emotions through physical experiences, according to NFI.
In accordance with the synopsis, Edina, a female bodybuilder, lives with her coach Adam. To win the world championship, Edina must make a serious sacrifice, but in the process, she falls into a strange relationship with a mysterious man that changes everything she believed in.
The lead actress Eszter Csonka and the coach György Turós, who plays her partner, also appear in a film for the first time. The cinematographer for “Gentle” is Zágon Nagy, who has already worked with Csuja on “Nine Month War” and photographed Anna Nemes‘s documentary on female bodybuilders. The visual designer was Anna Nyitrai, the dramaturge was Juli Jakab, the casting director was Éva Zabezsinszkij, the editor was Attila Csabai. The film was produced with the support of the National Film Institute by András Muhi and Gábor Ferenczy (Focusfox Studio) and co-produced by German co-producers Janine Jackowski, Jonas Dornbach, and Maren Ade (Komplizen Film).
The film will have its world premiere at one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, the Sundance Film Festival in the US, at the end of January. It is the first Hungarian feature film to compete at Sundance. The prestige of the invitation is enhanced by the fact that the festival has been one of the most important forerunners to the Oscars for years, with the biggest stars and star directors in attendance.
