The Gymnast

Set in a former mill town hollowed out by the loss of industry, The Gymnast follows a 16-year-old elite athlete and her single father as they struggle to reinvent themselves after a potentially career-ending injury. Once united by a singular dream of Olympic glory as a way out of their hometown, father and daughter find their identities shaken when the path forward abruptly disappears. What remains is the question of who they are without the sport that has shaped their lives.

The directorial debut of Charlotte Glynn and the opening night film of the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam – and also where it made its  world premiere – The Gymnast is anchored by a quiet authenticity that speaks to the lived realities of working-class communities.