Panel conversation about the documentary Your Fat Friend
In connection with the screening of Your Fat Friend at BIFF, the University of Bergen is organizing a panel conversation with the film鈥檚 director about fat activism and fat representation.
Main content
Welcome to a panel conversation about the documentary聽.听
The main character, , is an American fat activist and author. She writes and speaks about society鈥檚 negative discrimination against fat people. The film follows Aubrey over several years, from being an anonymous blogger under the pseudonym 鈥測our fat friend鈥� to publishing a book and revealing her full name. Together with journalist Michael Hobbes, she started the popular podcast .听
The film also shows Aubrey with her family and focuses on the relationships between them. It is an informative documentary about fatphobia and weight stigma. It also comments on the relationship between parents and children when it comes to bodies and dieting.
Director Jeanie Finlay masterfully balances the close personal relationships and the broader structural perspective on society鈥檚 attitudes and actions towards fat people. Aubrey鈥檚 experiences, viewpoints, and fat body are central to this film in a way we rarely see and experience in films about fatness.
This film is a perfect starting point for a conversation about fatphobia and weight stigma: What is it, and what is fat activism about? The panel conversation will also address the topic of fat representation in film.
In conversation are director Jeanie Finlay and PhD candiate at the Centre for Digital Narrative, Ella Maria Holi. PhD candidate at the Centre for Women's and Gender Research, Sunniva 脕rja Tobiasen, will moderate the conversation.
The event is a cooperation between the Centre for Women's and Gender Research (SKOK), the Student Committee for Gender 大象传媒 at UiB (), Center for Digital Narrative (CDN), and the seminar series UiB Innsikt.
The conversation will be held in English, and afterwards it's possible to catch We encourage everyone to buy tickets to the screening beforehand!
The panelists
is one of Britain鈥檚 most distinctive documentary makers. She creates award-winning work for cinema and television, telling intimate stories to international audiences.听
Your Fat Friend is her latest film, and it had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival, followed by its international premiere at Sheffield Doc Fest, where it won the audience award.
Whether inviting audiences to share the (extra)ordinary journey of a British transgender man, pregnant with his child聽(BIFA nominated听厂别补丑辞谤蝉别), or onto the set of the world鈥檚 biggest television show (Emmy nominated聽Game Of Thrones: The Last Watch),聽all of Jeanie's聽films are all made with the same steel and heart, sharing an empathetic approach to bringing overlooked and untold stories to the screen.
(they/them) is PhD candidate at the Centre for Women's and Gender Research. In their research, they explore gender and sexuality norms together with body norms, with a particular focus on fatness.
is PhD candidate at the Center for Digital Narrative. Ella's project focuses on fat narratives in social media and how these challenge the normative narratives of fatness.