Bye Bye Body
2019 · 10m · USA
Directed by Charlotte Benbeniste
Tones: melancholic, provocative, whimsical
When Nina fails to meet her weight loss goal in the final week of camp, she makes a Faustian bargain that launches her on an unexpected adventure through which she learns to inhabit her body on her own terms.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Benbeniste's choice of 35mm is not affectation but argument — the film insists that bodies and images of bodies have texture, and the ending refuses easy catharsis.
Weight-loss-camp Faustian bargain, 35mm short ends, Aspen Vimeo Staff Pick. The fantastical-meets-tactile combo could work — it doesn't read condescending in the description, which is a real achievement for body-image film.
Shot on 35mm short ends so the fantastical Faustian premise gets anchored in real grain — Aspen Shortsfest Vimeo Staff Pick winner, and the texture choice tells me the director knows the body conversation needs physical weight, not just whimsy.
Festivals
- Austin Film Festival 2019
- Aspen Shortsfest 2020, Vimeo Staff Pick Award