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Bite Me! Toronto International Body Image Film and Arts Festival

The first annual Bite Me! Toronto International Body Image Film and Arts Festival will be held this weekend, at the NFB’s Mediatheque. For those who read ‘body image film festival’ and are beset by memories of awkward adolecent moments involving sex ed, school counsellors, and painfully upbeat filmstrips, rest assured that this festival will be nothing like that; it will be much cooler. Put together by journalist and motivational speaker Jill Andrews, Bite Me! will examine ‘body image’ in terms of media portrayal, gender, class, sexual orientation, health, and stereotypes.

The festival casts a fairly wide net, with films such as The Story of Furious Pete, about a former anorexic who became a competitive eating champion, 65_REDROSES, about a Canadian women living with cystic fibrosis, and Colour of Beauty, about black model Renee Thompson. There will be two discussions (one on each day), which will feature filmmakers, professors, and other relevant experts (such as Merryl Bear, executive director of the Nedic National Eating Disorder Information Centre), as well as Q&A. If you’ve never been to a discussion and Q&A featuring a filmmaker, by all means, take advantage of this opportunity. Colleen Furlotte (Colour of Beauty), Nimisha Mukerji and Philip Lyall (65_REDROSES), and possibly the filmmakers of The Story of Furious Pete will be in attendance.

For further info, check out their website:

http://www.bitemefilmfest.com/

– Dave Robson

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