Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Meade

Platinum Level

Gold Level

   

Silver Level

Eating Recovery Services | Rogers Memorial Hospital | Rosewood | CRC Health

Monte Nido | New Directions & Angela R. Wurtzel, MFT, CEDS | Shoreline Center

Bella Vita | Lisa Hoffort, PsyD | Healthy Insideout - Michele Tamarkin, LMFT

Kristen Caron, MFT & Greta Angert, MFT | iaedp Central Coast | iaedp Orange County

A New Journey

Featured Documentaries and Films

 

Beauty Mark

Beauty Mark is for anyone who has ever felt invisible because they didn't conform to our culture's impossible, unhealthy, abnormal beauty standards. The film examines popular culture's toxic emphasis on weight and looks through the eyes of Boulder-based psychotherapist and former world-class triathlete Diane Israel, who tells her own story while interviewing other champion athletes, body builders, fashion models and inner-city teens about their experiences relating to self-image.

This deeply personal and funny film asks some tough questions: How do our families influence our relationships with our own bodies?  How do popular culture "standards" get inside of our hearts and heads?  In what ways can sports actually make us sicker instead of healthier?  Former champion athletes, including David Scott, Ellen Hart Peña and Brenda Maller, share their stories while notable luminaries such as playwright/activist Eve Ensler, author Paul Campos and cultural critic Naomi Wolf provide their insights.

The Breadbasket

The Breadbasket is a semi-autobiographical film about an actor with an eating disorder and how it affects his career, his relationship and his sanity. Matthew has suffered from a binge eating disorder for nearly thirty years. He has been in recovery for the last five years and has been sharing his film and journey with schools all across Southern California . His plan is to further his studies and continue to help people with this debilitating disease. He is currently training for a ten mile ocean swim next year and is proof that anything is possible in recovery.  Matthew Biancaniello, is the Director, writer, producer and subject of this film.

The Breadbasket was accepted to the Florida Film Festival 02’ and screened at the Oldenburg Film Festival 02’ and in other festivals in Australia , Switzerland and across the United States .

Body Image for Boys

This topical short documentary explores many of the issues facing young men today as they struggle to define themselves amidst the flood of media-generated images of male physical perfection. Several medical professionals, young men currently battling these issues, as well as UCLA sports medicine physician Gary Green, will discuss such problems as steroid abuse, eating disorders, exercise addiction, and phony food supplements. It is estimated that over One Million Boys and Men are currently dealing with eating disorder and/or body dysmorphic issues. This film makes a profound statement and lets society know that eating disorders are no longer just a “girl’s problem”!

We will also be  featuring a short monologue from the play

FLAT

FLAT is the autobiographical work of actress and writer Ellen Clifford, a girl who loves her flat-chest, even if the rest of the world does not. FLAT takes a comical look at both the pleasures and pitfalls of the small breast. It delves into Clifford's past, when a devastating eating disorder kept her from loving any part of herself and takes the audience on a journey that encourages them to take a look at their attitudes not only towards their bodies but towards their entire selves. FLAT received an honorable mention in the 2007 New Works of Merit Playwriting contest.

Following the featured documentaries and films we will have an interactive panel discussion

Special Guests include:

 

Kirsten Haglund
Miss America 2008

Kirsten chose to help raise awareness of eating disorders as her platform while competing in the Miss America Organization because she struggled with anorexia for several years as an adolescent. She saw what an incredible opportunity the crown was to seek to create open dialogue about eating disorders in entertainment media, the fashion and beauty industries, and with the many young women who look to Miss America as a role model. It is her mission to encourage young women, and be outspoken about the fact that these, serious deadly illnesses, are not glamorous. She also wants to reinforce that, women have the right and the responsibility to define beauty on their own terms; to love and respect themselves and their bodies first and foremost.

As Miss America, she had the privilege of joining ranks with the Eating Disorders Coalition in Washington D.C., to lobby Congress for the passage of Mental Health Parity, as well as speak at a Congressional Briefing introducing the FREED Act. She has done meaningful interviews with EXTRA, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and SHAPE Magazine to expose the dangerous reality of Eating Disorders. She also helped filmmaker Darryl Roberts promote his documentary exposing the world of underage modeling, cosmetic surgery, eating disorders and the perception of American beauty during his premiere in New York City.

Kirsten continues to help bring hope and a voice to those struggling with eating disorders. The Kirsten Haglund Foundation for eating disorders is a non-profit organization which provides financial assistance to families and individuals seeking treatment for eating disorders.

Catherine Garceau

- 2000 Olympic Medalist

Catherine first made the Canadian Synchronized swimming team in 1995. Her dedication to practice and perfection earned her a Bronze Medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney , Australia . However, her drive for perfection crept into her life outside the pool causing an eating disorder, depression and other health problems. After giving up her Olympic career Catherine began an eating disorder recovery and self-discovery process which helped reveal her true calling: to help educate and inspire young women as a positive role model for a healthy body, mind, and spirit. She speaks to audiences all over the world about her mission and is currently preparing for the release of her first book, “Fish out of Water”.

Diane Isreal

– 1984 Colorado mountain running champion and a world-class racer whose achievements included winning the bronze medal at the Maccabiah Games in Israel

An elite runner and triathlete until age 28, Diane won the Pikes Peak Marathon and several other major races after settling in Colorado in the early 1980s. She retired from competition after collapsing from anorexia–sometimes called athletic bulimia–a disorder many athletes suffer from, but which few experts knew anything about at that time. Diane went back to school to become a psychotherapist and is now a professor of human development at Naropa University , a counselor and co-owner of a women’s fitness center. She continues to run, but strives to live her life at a less frantic pace.

Patrick Bergstrom

Patrick Bergstrom is a 25 year old former college lacrosse player recovering from a 4-year battle with anorexia nervosa. While in treatment, he made a decision he wanted to make a difference in the Eating Disorder field and has a true passion to help others. He recently launched a campaign, "I Chose To Live" which is an outreach program designed to provide real life Eating Disorder Awareness and support to others.  He is focusing on the college level, and is doing some work with the NCAA to help other athletes on body image issues.  Patrick’s story and outreach program was recently featured in the September 2008 issue of Lacrosse Magazine. “My goal is to inspire and help others to get the real help they need.”