SILICONE SOUL

“She (Director Melody Gilbert) lets the participants speak for themselves, and what emerges is nothing short of miraculous. “

“Silicone Soul is an engrossing watch from the get-go.”

“A beautiful, heartwarming experience. (Director) Melody Gilbert does not view her interviewees as less than human, so the audience does not either.”

FILM THREAT movie score 10/10

THESE MEN LOVE THEIR SEX DOLL WIVES BECAUSE THEY WON’T CHEAT

Як сыліконавыя лялькі замяняюць жонак і мужоў. Рэжысэрка зь беларускімі каранямі зьняла пра гэта фільм

[ENG] Silicon dolls replacing wives and husbands. Director with Belarusian roots made a film about it.

Silicone Soul

“Gilbert raises the right questions about sexism, modern loneliness, and the slow erosion of the uncanny valley, but without demonizing or even judging her subjects. Instead, she shows how sweet and surprising it can be when humans, faced with difference, choose to be kind.”

REVIEW: COMPASSION FOR COMPANIONSHIP IN SILICONE SOUL

“To make a film that examines people who have turned silicone companionship into an actual loving relationship seems almost too easy as a way to mock and belittle those who have chosen such a lifestyle. But director Melody Gilbert has plenty of compassion for her subjects.”

SILICONE SOUL: Skin on Plastic

"Mesmerizing" & "Fascinating"

Five Docs to Watch from DOC NYC 2018

DOC NYC 2018 Women Directors: Meet Melody Gilbert – “Silicone Soul”

“MG: “Silicone Soul” is about people who live with and love dolls, yes. But ultimately, it’s a documentary about so much more. I hope it challenges us to ask questions about who we are and where we are going as a society, and forces us to contemplate some difficult questions about the future of human relationships.

I also hope that this film will force people look deep inside themselves and find empathy and acceptance for those among us who are different. Who are we to judge who — or what — people choose to love?”

The men in love with $7,000 sex dolls: Subculture of 'iDollators' who marry and develop romances with inanimate partners after swearing off 'flesh and blood' women

"Non-Judgmental...Most Interesting...Eyebrow Raising”

SILICONE SOUL: Watch This Exclusive Clip From Melody Gilbert Doc

“Like a true-to-life version of the acclaimed indie hit LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, Melody Gilbert’s fascinating, offbeat and emotionally rich documentary SILICONE SOUL takes us into the unique lives of people engaged in personal relationships with lifelike silicone dolls. Eschewing the usual navel gazing and salaciousness of previous documentaries, SILICONE SOUL gets deep to heart of what it means to be lonely, to feel loved, and ultimately, find happiness and contentment during these challenging times.”

IN THE QUEST FOR LOVE

"Could you ever consider having a full-fledged relationship with a silicone doll? In Melody Gilbert’s thought-provoking documentary the relationship between humans and dolls is under exploration, and by watching it you‘re slowly entering into an exercise in human empathy."

"Радиоприемница" пряко от Дома на киното (IN ENGLISH)

[BG]
”Гостува ни Мелъди Гилбърт – режисьор и продуцент, президент на журито „Документален конкурс" на Sofia International Film Festival / Международен София Филм Фест Преводач - Стефан Прохоров “

[ENG]
”Guest Melody Gilbert - Director and Producer, President of the Documentary Competition Jury at Sofia International Film Festival / International Sofia Film Fest Translator - Stefan Prochorov”

"Силиконова душа" - филмът за връзката на хора с изкуствен човек
(iN bULGARIAN)

[BG]
”"Силиконова душа" разказва за емоционалната връзка, която някои хора изпитват към своите синтетични приятели или дори съпрузи. Лентата разказва за главния герой Джон, който е женен за силиконова кукла. Тя струва 10 000 долара и тежи 45 килограма. Друг персонаж във филма е на жена, която има 12 силиконови приятели. Режисьорът на филма Мелъди Гилбърт сподели пред камерата на Bulgaria ON AIR, че подобни взаимоотношения ще изглеждат съвсем нормални след 20 години. "Силиконова душа" ще бъде показан премиерно извън документалния конкурс на 22-ия София филм фест.

[ENG]
”"Silicone Soul" tells about the emotional connection that some people experience toward their synthetic friends or companions. The film tells of the protagonist John, who is married to a silicone doll. It costs $ 10,000 and weighs 45 pounds. Another person in the movie is a woman who has 12 silicone friends. Film director Melody Gilbert told Bulgaria ON AIR camera that such relationships would look quite normal in 20 years.

"Silicone Soul" will be screen outside the documentary competition at the 22nd Sofia Film Fest.

Филмът „Силиконова душа”
(IN bulgarian & ENGLISH)

[BG]
”Когато е прекалено трудно да имаш връзка с истински човек, какво правиш? „Силиконова душа” разказва за емоционалната връзка, която някои хора изпитват към своите синтетични приятелки, и какво означава това за бъдещите човешки взаимоотношения. Но това най-вече е филм за самотата, любовта, тайните и вероятно за приемането. Кои сме ние, че да съдим, кого или какво избират да обичат хората? “

[ENG]
”When it's too hard to have a real person, what are you doing? "Silicon Soul" tells about the emotional bond that some people experience toward their synthetic friends, and what this means for future human relationships. But this is mostly a movie about loneliness, love, secrets, and perhaps acceptance. Who are we to judge, whom or what they choose to love people?”

The 20th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in the colors of "Obscuro Barroco" (In Greek)

[GR]
”Εάν έχετε δει την ταινία «Ο Λαρς και η Κούκλα του» (Κρεγκ Τζιλέσπι, 2007) με πρωταγωνιστή τον Ράιαν Γκόσλινγκ, δε θα εκπλαγείτε από το θέμα του ντοκιμαντέρ «Ψυχή από Σιλικόνη» της Μέλοντι Γκίλμπερτ. Η σκηνοθέτιδα εξετάζει τις περιπτώσεις ανθρώπων που έχουν επιλέξει ως σύντροφο ζωής μία τρομερά ρεαλιστική ανθρωπόμορφη κούκλα από σιλικόνη, στην οποία συμπεριφέρονται ακριβώς όπως σε έναν κανονικό, «οργανικό», άνθρωπο. Αυτό που εκ πρώτης όψεως φαντάζει ως ένα ντοκιμαντέρ που κρυφοκοιτάζει από την κλειδαρότρυπα τη σεξουαλική ζωή των πρωταγωνιστών, στην πραγματικότητα εξελίσσεται ως μία τρυφερή σπουδή πάνω στις έννοιες της οικειότητας, της μοναξιάς και του ψυχολογικού τραύματος που τροφοδοτεί αυτήν την ανάγκη στους χαρακτήρες. Συναντήσαμε την Μέλοντι Γκίλμπερτ στην Αποθήκη Γ', και μας εκμυστηρεύτηκε πως «ήθελα να καταλάβει ο κόσμος ότι ο τρόπος που εκείνοι ζουν αποτελεί ένα μέσο διαφυγής στη ζωή τους από πράματα που, δίχως την κούκλα σιλικόνης, θα τους κατέστρεφαν ολοσχερώς», και η αλήθεια είναι πως αυτό το κατάφερε.”

[ENG]
”If you've seen the movie "Lars and his Doll" (Craig Giles, 2007) starring Ryan Gosling, you will not be surprised by the documentary "Silicone Soul"by Melody Gilbert. The director examines the cases of people who have chosen as a life partner a terribly realistic anthropomorphic doll of silicone in which they behave just like a normal, "organic" man. What at first glance imagines as a documentary that peeks from the keyhole to the protagonists' sexual life actually evolves as a tender study of the concepts of intimacy, loneliness and psychological trauma that feeds this need on the characters. We met Melody Gilbert in Warehouse C, and told us that "I wanted the world to understand that the way they live is a means of escaping their lives from things that, without the silicone doll, would completely destroy them", and the truth is how it did.”