GENTLE MONSTER

Special Screening | Austria, Germany, France, Sweden | 2026 | Drama | 115 min | In German & French with English subtitles, and in English

Directed by: Marie Kreutzer
Written by: Marie Kreutzer
Produced by: Alexander Glehr & Johanna Scherz (Film AG) Timo Argillander & Andrea Scarso (IPR VC), Kristina Börjeson (Film i Väst), Nathanaël Karmitz & Fionnuala Jamison (Mk2 Films), Jonas Dornbach & Janine Jackowski (Komplizen Film), Jean-Christophe Reymond (Kazac Productions), Marie Kjellson (KW)
Cinematography: Judith Kaufmann
Original Score: Camille
Film Editing: Ulrike Kofler
Cast: Léa Seydoux (Lucy Weiss), Jella Haase (Elsa Kühn), Laurence Rupp (Philipp Weiss), Catherine Deneuve (Eloise), Malo Blanchet (Johnny), Anton Rubtsov (Arian), Nils Strunk (Lucas), Patrycia Ziolkowska (Natalia)
International Sales: Mk2 Films
US distributor: Netflix

Synopsis

Gentle Monster tells the story of concert pianist Lucy (Léa Seydoux), who has just relocated her family to a country house hoping to ease her husband Philip’s (Laurence Rupp) severe burnout. Before they have a chance to set up their new home, an early morning police visit tears their life apart. Trapped between the man she loves and the fear of what he may have done, Lucy must face the situation alone as her world unravels. With a cast that includes Jella Haase alongside the legendary, Academy Award nominee Catherine Deneuve, Gentle Monster asks what we do when someone we love turns out to be someone we never really knew.

Director’s bio

Marie Kreutzer is an Austrian filmmaker. Her feature film credits include The Fatherless (2011), which won the Grand Prize at Austria’s Diagonale film festival and a Best First Feature Honorable Mention in Berlin; Guber is Leaving (2015); We Used to Be Cool (2016); The Ground Beneath Your Feet (2019), which screened in competition in Berlin and won the Grand Jury Award at L.A. Outfest. Kreuzer’s sixth film Gentle Monster premiered in Official Competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and will be released by Netflix. Kreutzer’s previous film Corsage, Austria’s 2023 official country selection, also premiered at Cannes, earning Vicky Krieps Best Performance in Un Certain Regard. It premiered in LA at TAFFF in 2022.