The Trainer | Love Horror film reviews and news

The inaugural edition of The Final Film Festival has expanded its programme with the UK premiere of The Trainer, the latest feature from American History X director Tony Kaye, while also confirming that actor Julia Fox will appear across three separate festival selections in what organisers are calling an unofficial showcase of her recent work. Set to screen on Sunday 9 August at Genesis Cinema, The Trainer pairs Kaye with writer and star Vito Schnabel in an offbeat comedy following an ambitious dreamer whose relentless confidence collides with the realities of modern Los Angeles. The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with Kaye and will be preceded by the UK premiere of Mirror Mirror, directed by Eema Kaye. In The Trainer, Schnabel plays Jack Flex, a penniless but relentlessly optimistic fitness fanatic convinced he is destined for success. Determined to sell his bizarre invention, the "Heavy Hat", on his mother's favourite shopping channel, Jack finds himself scrambling across Los Angeles after an unexpected opportunity forces him to turn years of exaggerated claims about celebrity clients and Hollywood success into reality. Joining Schnabel is Julia Fox alongside an expansive supporting cast that includes Steven Van Zandt, Beverly D'Angelo, Bella Thorne, Gina Gershon, Stephen Dorff, Lenny Kravitz, Paris Hilton, John McEnroe, Taylour Paige, Allan Góes, Brock O'Hurn, Gayle King, Luka Sabbat, Duke Nicholson, Finneas O'Connell, Laird Hamilton and Soo Joo Park. Festival founders Kit Ramsey and Jack Hewitt described the film as "a sweat-drenched, teeth-chattering and pupil-dilating, madcap ode to the rogue fringe industry of hucksters, chancers and dreamers surrounding Hollywood", adding that its cast of more than 59 performers delivers "the combined star power of a supernova". Fox's appearance in The Trainer completes a notable presence across the festival, with the actor also featuring in opening night selection Perfumania and the romantic drama Perfect. Organisers say the trio of films reflects a shared interest in transgressive storytelling, queer expression and the tensions between personal ambition and wider social pressures. Perfumania, directed by Charlotte Ercoli, opened the festival on 6 August at Curzon Soho and was accompanied by a live Q&A with the filmmaker moderated by Owen Kline. The screening was preceded by the world premiere of Adrian Anderson's The Belt, starring Megan Bitchell, Austin Pendleton, Andrea Rose, Philip Thompson, Shane Fleming and Ben Petrie. Meanwhile, Perfect, the feature debut from music video director Millicent Hailes, is scheduled to screen on Sunday 9 August at Curzon Soho, alongside Alec Moeller's Hesperia, starring Marta Pozzan, Jessie-Ann Kohlman and Garrett Coffey. Running from 6 to 9 August, the first edition of The Final Film Festival is spread across venues including Curzon Soho, ICA, Genesis Cinema, The Castle Cinema, Peckhamplex and The Nickel Cinema, bringing together international premieres, repertory discoveries, experimental work and emerging filmmaking voices. The Trainer receives its UK premiere at Genesis Cinema on Sunday 9 August as part of The Final Film Festival, with tickets and the full festival programme available now: tfffestival.co.uk/

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