'Born to Lose' biker drama starring Dylan Arnold and Matty Matheson set for Raindance Film Festival UK premiere
Born to Lose, a gritty coming-of-age biker drama starring Dylan Arnold and executive produced by Matty Matheson, will receive its UK premiere at London’s Raindance Film Festival on June 20.
A new biker-themed indie drama backed by The Bear star Matty Matheson is set for its UK premiere at London’s Raindance Film Festival, bringing a gritty coming-of-age story built around a 1960s Harley-Davidson Panhead to the big screen.
Born to Lose, directed by first-time filmmaker Joseph Zentil, will screen in London on June 20 at Vue Piccadilly as part of the UK’s largest independent film festival. The film stars Dylan Arnold (Halloween, You) as Andy Logan, a small-town American biker pulled into a spiral of debt, violence and family history after inheriting nothing but problems following his father’s death.
Set in Western Kentucky, the story follows Andy as he deals drugs from a Harley-Davidson Sportster chop’ while trying to stay afloat in a world that seems determined to repeat itself. When a debt to a violent strip club owner turns deadly, he’s given a month to repay what he owes or face the consequences.
That countdown forces a shift, ending with Andy being taken in by a veteran mentor played by James Le Gros. Andy is pushed towards restoring his late father’s abandoned 1965 Harley-Davidson Panhead, a bike that becomes both a mechanical project and a psychological anchor. The restoration of the bike gradually turns into something more like reckoning, as Andy is forced to confront inherited behaviour, fractured family ties and the idea that escape might actually be possible.
Alongside Arnold, the cast includes Sarah Pidgeon as a country singer and love interest, Ambyr Childers as Andy’s troubled sister, and Shane Callahan as a local gangster shaping the pressure around him.
The film marks Zentil’s feature debut, with executive production support from Matty Matheson, best known for his breakout role in FX’s The Bear. The project also draws on Zentil’s background in motorcycle culture, something he says fed directly into the film’s tone and authenticity.
“I’ve been involved with motorcycles since I was a kid,” Zentil said. “I grew up riding dirt bikes, and later spent time around custom builders and shops that really shaped how I saw that world. A lot of the people I met along the way fed directly into the characters in this film.”
Co-writer and producer Pierce Csurgo added that the motorcycle itself became the narrative spine. “Joe’s obsession with vintage bikes gave us the structure, but the real story is about fathers, sons and inherited identity. That’s what everything came back to.”
Raindance programmers describe the film as a grounded portrait of small-town America, touching on economic hardship, addiction and domestic instability, with tonal comparisons to At Close Range.
Born to Lose screens at Raindance on June 20 at 20:40.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
