“As a clinician, author and expert in the field of eating disorders rarely do I find a movie about a personal eating disorder story that I like. Usually they are filled with portraying the symptoms and the darkness, rather than recovery and light. Eating disorder films usually show specifics about the struggle but gloss over specifics on how to heal. I Am Maris is unique in that it does not shy away from the seriousness of an eating disorder, but it also offers hope and a path toward healing that anyone can access. This film shows the relationship between an eating disorder where there is a disconnect between mind, body and soul and an ancient eastern tradition designed to strengthen the connection between those very things.”
-Carolyn Costin, author of Yoga and Eating Disorders: Ancient Healing for a Modern Illness
I Am Maris shows us how amazing we can be, not only in spite of, but because of our struggles. Mental illness is not a weakness, but a catalyst for building strength, spirit, and empathy.
Popular wisdom focuses on the social pressures that contribute to eating disorders — the desire to be model-thin. This film, however, takes a closer look at the drive for control and perfection behind the disordered behaviors of these high-functioning young warriors.
I Am Maris focuses on bravery, not fear. Unlike other films that focus on the horrors of eating disorders and tend to conclude with relapse or death, this film has a hopeful message. The first part of the documentary focuses on Maris’s backstory and her struggle. But it doesn’t end there. We see how Maris heals. We follow her continued recovery. We witness Maris’s success and her staggering effect on the lives of those she inspires and helps. Maris’s victory and wise-beyond-her years self-awareness become our inspiration to embrace our full and faulted selves and live heroically as works in progress.
1. This film will resonate with any young person or parent of one who has struggled with anxiety, depression and/or an eating disorder.
I Am Maris tells more than the story of the impact of mental illness and recovery on the survivor, but the impact on her family, friends, and community. Any mother of a child who has struggled will connect instantly with Maris’s mother’s astonishing honesty.
2. On a larger scale it will speak to all of us who struggle with self image and self worth.
3. It will connect with a devoted audience interested in the power of yoga and the practice of mindfulness.
Style
This film captures the spirit of Maris — allowing for her darkness and light. In the film, we see Maris at school and at home with her family and friends. We see her teaching and practicing yoga. We see her graduate from high school, speaking to thousands at the ceremony, and moving in to the college dorms to start her independent life. Interviews include Maris, her mother, her father, her yoga mentor and teachers, her friends, her psychologist, her boyfriend, and several women ranging in age from 16 to 54 who have also suffered from eating disorders and anxiety/depression and have been helped Maris.
Through her own writing, painting, and words, Maris confronts and reveals her own self-doubt, fears, and faults. Her elegant and wise writing is the poetry of the script, spoken by her in voice over. The scenes flow in and out of each other much like a Vinyasa yoga class.
As well as being a gifted yogi and writer, Maris is a painter. Her artwork is prominently featured the film illustrating her state of mind before and after recovery. A professional artist has imitated her style to create original animations for the film.