OUR BODY ELECTRIC

A bodybuilding season unfolds in the gym, the kitchen, on the road and through commitments in front of a screen. In OUR BODY ELECTRIC, Dana Reilly follows Ariel Khadr, Amanda Kohatsu and Chelsea Dion as they prepare for their competitions and look towards the Olympia. Alongside training, the story includes work, relationships, expenses and family plans.

The three protagonists compete in different categories. Ariel is a Fitness athlete: presenting her physique is accompanied by an acrobatic routine requiring rehearsal and choreography. Amanda competes in Figure and works as a coach. Chelsea competes in Women’s Bodybuilding and faces the transition between a body prepared for the stage and one outside the competition season. Archive material and explanations of the competitive divisions accompany these paths.

For Ariel, preparation intersects with family history and a question about the future: continuing to pursue first place or making room for the wish to become a mother. The film follows her through training, routine rehearsals and conversations about the costs of her career. Choosing photographs for a dating app also introduces the relationship between her sporting image and the one she wants to present outside competition.

Amanda trains in her garage, coaches clients and prepares for her professional debut. At the same time, she supports her partner Keone Pearson, also a bodybuilder. Shared training, phone calls and organising meals are part of the couple’s life. The demands of her own preparation sit alongside the time devoted to him, while Amanda expresses a wish to receive attention and support in return.

Chelsea weighs her breakfast, studies rivals’ poses on television and discusses the changes to her physique required by preparation. Her body is also part of her online work: her coach’s advice must be considered alongside audience expectations and financial needs. Her relationship with her own image also encompasses family memories, recounted in front of the mirror.

The competition calendar brings these commitments together within the same season. The film moves from domestic spaces to hotel rooms and preparations for the stage, following what each woman must organise before appearing before the judges. Competition remains connected to everyday tasks: training, preparing food, working, travelling and finding time for relationships.

Produced by Maggie M. Bailey, OUR BODY ELECTRIC is Reilly’s first feature-length documentary, following Ms Diva Trucker and Favorite Daughter. The story follows three distinct paths, with goals and circumstances that the protagonists continue to discuss throughout the season.