‘Anorexia is a symptom of an era’, says director of ‘Ecstasy’

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Social pressures to fit the body into an ideal pattern play a big role in the development of eating disorders such as anorexia. The opinion was shared by filmmaker Moara Passoni, director of the film “Êxtase” (2020), during a debate about the feature promoted by Sheet on Thursday (1st).

“In the society of control, perfection is the great desire”, said Passoni, who was part of the team of Oscar-nominated screenwriters in 2020 for the film “The Edge of Democracy” (2019), directed by Petra Costa –now producer of “Ecstasy “.

Passoni’s film shows Clara’s journey from age 7 to 17, a period in which she develops and breaks with anorexia. As a child, she moved with her family from Jardim Ângela, in São Paulo, to Brasília (DF), after her mother was elected federal deputy during the 1985 Constituent Assembly. the consequences of the disorder.

Anorexia is a psychiatric condition characterized by persistent change in food or eating habits, altering food consumption or absorption.

“Anorexia has to do with the way we deal with our bodies and how uncomfortable they are. It would be nice to look at that to break free of control.”

The public packed the 101 seats in the Espaço Itaú room at Shopping Frei Caneca, in the central region of São Paulo, to watch the premiere of the feature on the commercial circuit. The screening was followed by a discussion with the participation of the director, producer Petra Costa and psychiatrist Lígia Florio. The mediation was carried out by the psychoanalyst Luciana Saddi.

The script, signed by Passoni, was written from diaries kept by her, who faced the disorder in her adolescence, and also from reports of other women who had anorexia. Scenes of rejection at school, rigidity in ballet classes, distancing from family and hospitalizations are based on real situations.

“All the scenes are real, but I chose to do them with an actress to avoid the spectacle of anorexic bodies”, explained Passoni. “I experienced something that was singular, but I was sure it spoke to the experience of other women.”

The director claims that the intention of the film is to encourage discussion about the prejudices that involve the development of eating disorders. “It’s a symptom of an era. There is no cause for anorexia. The film talks about the need for otherness, about how we live in a world that forgets about it because of the fear of difference”, said Passoni. “Êxtase” is showing in movie theaters in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre and Brasília.

Petra Costa stated that she identified with Passoni’s biography, since her mother, journalist Marília Furtado de Andrade, was a political activist like Irma Passoni. Both, in Costa’s opinion, sacrificed their private life for the collective ideal. “They considered their daughters’ emotions to be a luxury, we have that trauma in common.”

Psychiatrist Lígia Florio said that a hostile environment contributes to the onset of these disorders. “Every feeling of vulnerability creates defense mechanisms, based on the person’s experiences. One of the symptoms is social isolation, in addition to possessiveness and control.”

For psychoanalyst Luciana Saddi, who mediated the discussion, in eating disorders there is a process of breaking with reality. “What you see in anorexia are thoughts close to those of psychosis.” In her opinion, anorexia has a political connotation, since the disorder manifests itself as a form of individual rebellion against the control that society exercises over the shape of their body.

“The film tries to get rid of the stigma that anorexia is about girls who want to look pretty to fit a pattern. It is one of the mental illnesses that kills the most”, said Moara Passoni.

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