Disorder
Rating: M
Producer: Olivia Mahood
Director: Miryam Jacobi
Production Mentor: Juliette Veber

RELEASING THE GRIP OF AN EATING DISORDER: What it’s really like

A new documentary made by young Kiwi film-makers will resonate with the thousands of New Zealanders who have lived through the hell of an eating disorder. Disorder, an intimate insight into the perspectives of New Zealanders who have lived with disordered eating, is one of six short films by emerging film-makers commissioned as part of The Outlook for Someday project.

In the documentary created by director Miryam Jacobi and producer Olivia Mahood, seven young people share their journeys from despair to acceptance after long, dark periods of disordered eating patterns and self-loathing.

Stories are told through a mix of classic documentary-style and original poetry, animation and music. They reveal the fragility of children and teens, and the damage triggered by seemingly innocuous comments such as “We don’t stock clothes in your size”, and “You don’t need any more potatoes, you’re getting too big”.

One young woman describes rubbing concealer into her knees to mask the orange tint caused by her obsession with eating carrots and pumpkin, while another recalls the horror of being held down by security guards upon admission to hospital for anorexia nervosa.

Actor Jack Barry, best-known in New Zealand as Tank Reid in Shortland Street, shares his painful struggle with body image, tracing it back to when the All Blacks changing from loose shirts to tight shirts. “I did not look like that when I wore a tight top.”

Jack, now healthy and working in both New Zealand and Los Angeles, and all his fellow documentary subjects are now in recovery.

The team consulted with psychotherapist Kellie Lavender from the New Zealand Eating Disorders Clinic to ensure the process was safe and supportive for all involved.

They also collaborated with social media sensations Nope Sisters Clothing to create the custom ‘Any Size’ T-shirt with all proceeds going to EDANZ, a support group for families dealing with eating disorders.

Disorder is one of the Someday Stories series of sustainability-focused short films by emerging young film-makers from Aotearoa New Zealand. It has been created by Auckland-based production company Two One One Three Creatives, and released on August 27. You can find out more about the project here.

The Someday Stories are produced by Connected Media with support from NZ On Air, The Body Shop, Te Māngai Pāho and the New Zealand Film Commission in association with Stuff, Māori Television, The Wireless, and Coconet TV.

Click here to watch Disorder on Facebook, or view through one of our screen partners, Stuff, Māori TV On Demand, and The Wireless.