"Besides dealing with the sport, it's a tragic story of a love triangle ... It's about a lost woman, whose state of health is worsening because of bodybuilding. A mysterious man suddenly enters her life and she tries to find happiness with his help,” Csuja told FNE. His first feature, Blossom Valley, won a prize in the East of The West section of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. „It's Steve McQueen's Hunger mixed with the melodramas of Douglas Sirk,” Csuja added.

Non-pro Eszter Csonka, bodybuilding world champion, plays the main character, and bodybuilding-fitness coach György Turós plays her boyfriend/coach. Professional actors Csaba Krisztik and Éva Kerekes are also in the cast.

The shooting ran for 21 days in November and the beginning of December. They now have a six-week break while Eszter Csonka will be training for the bodybuilding competition planned as the finale of the film. They will shoot an additional seven days in January.

Gentle Monster’s script won the top prize at Jerusalem's Sam Spiegel International Film Lab. It's a coproduction between Focusfox (Hungary) and Komplizen Film (Germany). The National Film Institute – Hungary granted 216 million HUF / 610,000 EUR,  and German public broadcaster ZDF also supported the film. It is set to be released in the second half of 2021.

Production Information:

Focusfox (Hungary)
Komplizen Film (Germany)

Supported by National Film Institute – Hungary

Credits:
Directors: Anna Nemes, László Csuja
Screenwriter: Anna Nemes, László Csuja
DoP: Zágon Nagy
Editor: Attila Csavai
Producer: András Muhi, Gábor Ferenczy, Janine Jackowski, Jonas Dornbach
Cast: Eszter Csonka, György Turós, Csaba Krisztik, Éva Kerekes