A SKIN SO SOFT

Jean-François, Ronald, Alexis, Cédric, Benoit and Maxim are men who have made their bodies the purpose of their lives – from strongman to elite bodybuilder to veteran now training others. Canadian director Denis Côté follows the six of them in “A Skin So Soft” (original title “Ta peau si lisse”, Canada 2017) as they wait for the next competition: in the training room, on extreme diets, oiling up and posing. What drives them is never explained; the film simply watches as they try to push past their own limits.

Côté dispenses with commentary and interviews. His observational documentary essay sidesteps his protagonists’ personal motives and instead gathers glimpses of their rather closed-off, introverted aura – without cynicism, without irony in the static camera. The film premiered in the International Competition in Locarno in August 2017. In 2017, “A Skin So Soft” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin.

Shown at the 2017 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2017 · Film Archive