‘The Gym Queen’ has arrived in Cannes to claim her crown.
Distributed by Global Constellation, produced by France’s Bobby Pills, and directed by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Attane, this crowd-pleasing animation depicts popular Parisian gay influencer Jim’s rise to power as the ultimate gym queen. He’s all about “tight shorts and zero body fat,” until one day his abs literally disappear.
Jim is slowly turning straight as a virus called Heterosis is spreading. Side effects? Flabby bodies, manspreading, and an obsession with soccer. And I’ll never have a prostate orgasm again.
“Honestly, gay men are obsessed with how they look. Sometimes it’s tough in this world, because you have to be in shape and you have to be young. I’m 43 years old and men look at me differently,” Barteau told Variety.
Barteau co-wrote “Gym Queen” with Nguyen, Assane, and Brynce Chevilard.
“I used to be a gym queen myself. Now I’m a dad. I’m kidding myself because it’s the next step. But I’m going to the gym tomorrow too.”
Nguyen added: “There’s a lot of toxic masculinity in the gay community as well, where you think it’s enough to say you’re gay and then you realize you don’t fit the criteria because you’re too heavy. Writing this and writing these jokes was so liberating because we talked about what we’ve been through.”
The gym is changing and losing followers, but one person doesn’t care at all. This is young Lucian. I’m in love with Jim, even though the closet is still closed. Together they decide to find a cure for heterosis and escape from the “gaystapo” and Lucian’s homophobic mother.
“It was very, very fun to write. I wanted to convey brightness and joy, because that’s how I approach everything that happens in life. We all go through a lot of terrible things, that’s obvious, but I try to look on the bright side,” says Barteau.
The film also takes a closer look at the LGBTQ community, where “no one mixes and we talk trash all the time.”
“We make fun of everyone here, and even ourselves,” Nguyen laughs.
“People used to see the LGBTQIA+ community as one group, but the reality is much more complex. At the same time, we wanted to show that when something terrible happens and threatens to destroy the world, we can all stand against this together.”
According to Barteau, they talk about their community the same way they talk about their best friends.
“We love them. We know everything about them. But sometimes we can be honest. That’s the truth. This is a love letter to the community, but not everything is perfect.”
Still, being kind always took priority. Although the main character suffers from it.
“I love when Jim suddenly gets that look in his eyes and realizes what kindness is. It’s so funny,” Nguyen smiles.
“Our production company, Bobbypills, specializes in adult animation. They’re not afraid of sexual content, but we didn’t want it to be pornographic or overly vulgar. There’s sex, but it always leads to something. We didn’t just want to shock, we wanted to talk about love.”
Nguyen points out that while the voices that insist that “homosexuality is a disease” persist, the film reverses that sentiment.
“Conversion therapy is terrible and we’re showing you that. You can’t force your identity or your sexuality on someone.”
Director Barteau says, “I grew up in the countryside in the ’80s, so I thought I was a weirdo. It was very cathartic to make this film. Now, I finally feel like I feel good about myself. Marco helped me a lot. We’re gay from the countryside and he says he’s from the city,” he laughs.
“It took me a long time to accept myself because we didn’t grow up the same way. Before, I wouldn’t have sat like that (cross-legged). I was trying to look more masculine. Now I don’t care.”
It was fun to play with straight cliches for a change.
“Heterosexual people can act stereotypically, even if they don’t realize it. Both of our writers are straight, which is why we were able to pull it off,” he says.
Nguyen said, “I love this moment when you turn on the TV and now that everyone’s straight, you see the announcement that Ricky Martin is going to marry Kristen Stewart. I’ve heard people laugh at that.”
“I love the line in “The Sixth Sense,” “I have a homosexual.” I’m very proud of this,” laughs Barteau.
“I think we made a political film, but also because laughter can be a weapon. We’re very lucky. We live in a country where ‘Gym Queen’ could be made. But we’re still thinking about people in Senegal, transgender people, and even people in the United States. Maybe it makes their reality a little bit lighter.”
“This is a feel-good comedy. We want people to feel good,” Nguyen said, adding Barteau: “This is a feel-good comedy. We want people to feel good.”
“We just watched this video of two viewers in their 60s. After watching the film, they said, ‘It didn’t help everything, but it still made me laugh.’ We want to share with you the richness and beauty of the gay community.”
©2025 Bobby Pills U Media
