“You don’t need a Harley to like this movie”: Joseph Zentil, Dylan Arnold and Pierce Csurgo on Born to Lose at Raindance Film Festival 2026

Born to Lose is the feature debut of Joseph Zentil, which channels his own personal connection to biker culture as well as draws on the rich tradition of it in cinema, from Easy Rider to The Bikeriders, delivering a gritty slice of Americana. The film stars Dylan Arnold (of You, Halloween and Oppenheimer fame) as coke-addicted biker Andy, who returns home, not only to find his father dead, but having to face up to his dangerous criminal legacy and escalating debts. He does, however, also inherit his dad’s old Harley – and fixing it up alongside his father’s old friend Jed (James Le Gros) becomes his lifeline and path to forging his own identity.

Speaking with the filmmakers and their star, we heard about how they strove to bring authenticity to both their representation of the motorcycle community and those on the margins of small-town Kentucky in their indie feature. Thinking of the figure of “the biker” as a modern-day cowboy of sorts, they wanted to delve into the hyper-masculine stereotype attached to it but also challenge it, with Andy having to discover his own path and break away from the one inherited from his father. We heard about Arnold’s “trial by fire” introduction to riding Harleys, executive producer Matty Matheson’s (The Bear) involvement, and what it means to premiere such a distinctly American independent film before UK audiences at Raindance.

Sarah Bradbury

Born to Lose does not have a release date yet.