Octopuses

Ethan is 28 and his body is his livelihood. Working out is not a hobby but a job, and staying bookable as a model means pushing his physique to extremes that leave little room for anything softer. On a photoshoot at Lake Balaton in Hungary, surrounded by other men who seem to wear the role more easily, he tries to fit in while an inner conflict about who he is and what he is selling grows harder to ignore. Directed by Juan Nasra and led by David Szavó, this Hungarian short is a quiet, observational drama about masculinity as performance, the discipline and loneliness of being looked at for a living, and the questions that surface when the camera stops. Its title hints at the many-armed pull of expectation that keeps Ethan reaching for an image he may not want.