Eisha is a “chubby Punjabi” teen in small-town Quebec when she makes a fateful pact with her sister Seema to go on a joint diet together. The end goal: to lose as much weight as necessary to fit into the ubiquitously advertised hot pair of designer jeans. But what begins as a fun challenge soon takes a dark turn when Eisha, increasingly consumed by anorexia, finds herself in a full-on war against her own fragile body.
Evoking her pained youth with a surprising mixture of lyricism, humor, and discerning introspection, documentary filmmaker Eisha Marjara masterfully blends together personal home videos, 80s pop-culture relics, nuanced dramatizations, and intimate first-person narration to craft an exquisite work of auto-ethnography. In addition to reflecting upon themes of body image and self-acceptance, her tender love letter to her young self also tells a poignant story of immigration and assimilation, and the complex forces that mold the displaced soul.
Eisha Marjara
Eisha Marjara has made several award-winning films, including Locarno’s Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique winner Desperately Seeking Helen. Venus (2017), a dramatic comedy, won the EDA Award for Best Feature at Whistler Film Festival and Best Feature Film at Cinequest, among other accolades. Eisha also authored the young adult novel Faerie, which received rave reviews in Canadian and US press. She is completing her next feature, Calorie.
