42 Films Exploring Eating Disorders

Lucy Daniels believes a family secret revealed when she was four profoundly shaped her life and triggered a lifelong mental illness. Growing up in a prominent newspaper family, Lucy always measured her value by her writing. Achieving early success, she…

Casey Powell, a teenager, is struggling with anorexia nervosa. This mental and physical illness manifests as self-starvation or self-induced vomiting, stemming from her difficulty managing family issues and societal pressures.

This film chronicles the rapid ascent and tragic decline of Karen Carpenter, a singer who achieved widespread fame before struggling with anorexia and bulimia. This authorized biopic of Karen Carpenter was produced with the approval of her brother, Richard Carpenter,…

This Dutch documentary follows the final weeks of Emma Caris, an 18-year-old girl battling anorexia nervosa since she was 16, as she receives care in a Portuguese clinic.

A nineteen-year-old woman, struggling with bulimia and having left home to become a stripper and then a prostitute, experiences a terrifying decline as she's haunted by disturbing psychological visions and nightmares, blurring the line between reality and a nightmarish world.

Mia believes beauty defines everything: a prize, a hope, a burden, a dream. It's the only life she knows, and it feels like a prison.

A teenage girl hides a secret: she feels pressured to appear happy for everyone around her – her parents and friends. To cope with the emotional weight, she secretly engages in binge eating followed by purging.

A young man with Tourette's Syndrome sets out on a road trip carrying his recently deceased mother's ashes.

Marisa battles anorexia, but her condition presents a perplexing mystery to medical professionals.

Eun-young possesses a beauty that brings both admiration and resentment. Men are drawn to her, while women harbor jealousy. Her life is disrupted when one of her obsessive admirers breaks into her home.

A driven freshman in high school attempts to exert control over her existence by obsessively managing her weight.

Ken, a serial womanizer, joins an all-female body image support group with the intention of pursuing Talia, a young woman struggling with an eating disorder.

Prime numbers are only divisible by one and themselves, existing apart from everything else. Alice and Mattia both feel isolated, carrying the weight of difficult childhood experiences. Alice suffered a skiing accident that left a lasting physical effect, while Mattia…

Vittorio seeks a woman to perfectly fit his ideal. He finds Sonia, a kind, intelligent young woman, through a classified ad. But Vittorio is disturbed by her weight of 125 pounds. A goldsmith, he becomes fixated on reshaping Sonia, like…

Seventeen-year-old Hannah discovers a website called Thinspiration, an online community that promotes anorexia as a lifestyle. She becomes deeply fixated on the site's founder, ButterflyAna. By the time her family understands the extent of her obsession and seeks professional help,…

Klara, a 15-year-old, joins four other teenagers for lunch at an Eating Disorder Clinic, overseen by nurses. They are given a 30-minute window to finish their meals.

Driven by a relentless pursuit of perfection, aspiring gymnast Andie Bradley pushes herself to the point of near starvation in her desperate attempt to achieve her Olympic dream.

Angela Aberdeen fulfills a pact with Satan and is thrust into Hell. However, Satan has further torment prepared for her. He sends her back to Earth to hunt and destroy another person. This return triggers a transformation in Angela, as…

Olivia and Matthew Grey are 18-year-old twins raised in a world of wealth and lofty expectations. They share an unusually close bond, to the point where their dreams feel intertwined.

This is the story of Isabelle Caro, the model who gained notoriety after appearing in Oliviero Toscani's controversial NO-Anorexia campaign. Using family photos and video diaries, the film explores different periods of Isabelle's life and the environment she lived in.

A dedicated dancer finds herself battling to stay grounded after landing the principal role in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s "Swan Lake."

Twelve teenagers from diverse backgrounds join the American Ballet Academy in New York, all striving to become professional ballet dancers. The film follows their individual struggles and pressures as they navigate rigorous training and the competitive world of dance.

This documentary explores the life of Lene Marie Fossen, a talented photographer battling severe anorexia. "Self Portrait" examines the strength found in art and the will to survive, while also prompting reflection on the necessary care for individuals with this…

A lonely 16-year-old girl finds connection with an older man online. Their brief online relationship evolves, leading to obsession and the development of an eating disorder.

Trevor, a lathe operator plagued by insomnia, begins to experience unsettling events both at his job and in his personal life. He's relentlessly pursued by an odd stranger, though no one else appears to see him.

Maledimiele follows Sara, a teenager whose gradual descent into anorexia consumes her life.

The seemingly perfect life of a woman – beautiful, married to a successful lawyer, and a devoted suburban mother – hides a secret. Beneath the surface, she struggles with a hidden battle against bulimia.

A young woman struggling with anorexia encounters an unusual doctor who encourages her to confront her illness and rediscover the joy of living.

A woman battles anorexia, and her parents desperately struggle to help her recover.

As Stella begins her teenage years, she learns that her older sister Katja, her idol, is struggling with an eating disorder. This illness gradually strains their family relationships. It's a story about jealousy, love, and betrayal, presented with warmth, depth,…

Eve struggles with self-doubt but has a vivid imagination, particularly when it comes to music. During a summer in Glasgow, she connects with Cass, a privileged young woman, and James, a very particular guy, who are also adrift. The three…

Set in the late 1960s, this film is based on the true story of Susanna Kaysen. After a brief meeting with a psychiatrist, she's committed to a mental institution, disrupting her life. What starts as a short stay becomes a…

This film follows four women in South Florida as they grapple with anorexia and bulimia.

Just outside London, Wendy and Andy manage their lives and their adult twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy works as a shop clerk, while Andy juggles cooking with endless home repairs. Natalie is a plumber, and Nicola struggles with unemployment and…

A young man takes it upon himself to teach a woman how to dance, pursuing his goal with unwavering determination.

Alice struggles with how she sees herself and tries to keep her weight and eating disorder a secret from her school and family.

Young-goon, a woman with mental instability who frequently shocks herself with a transistor radio, is in a mental institution. She believes she's a cyborg and refuses to eat like a normal person. Il-soon, another patient, befriends Young-goon. Now, Il-soon faces…

Sister Matilde, a nun who believes in the power of faith, undertakes a secret, extreme fast to stop what she sees as a modern-day flood. Meanwhile, Elena, preoccupied with appearances, desperately wants her daughter Linda to lose weight so she'll…

Shane Ryan's film, made soon after the real-life events that inspired it (the 2007 murder of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten by 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante), challenges viewers with its unflinching portrayal of difficult topics. Drawing comparisons to the work of David Lynch,…

Lexi Archer relocates to Chicago with her mother after their divorce and quickly befriends Jennifer at her new school. When Lexi’s volleyball coach pressures her to lose weight, Jennifer confesses to having bulimia. The two girls team up to support…

A woman grapples with her sense of self while living in a home dominated by her mother's preoccupation with weight. Her younger sister's eating disorder becomes intertwined with devastating events.