Watching Taryn Brumfitt’s Embrace documentary

Earlier in the year, Taryn Brumfitt‘s documentary Embrace screened at the New Zealand International Film Festival. It was a “one show only” deal and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it to the screening. I knew I had to see it though, so I got in touch with the team at Body Image Movement to find out how I could bring it to my local cinema.

My friend Monique from Dressing Up and I organised a screening at one of our local cinemas through Demand.Film, because we knew that this was something we needed to share. It needed to be shared with our blog readers; with our friends and family; with mamas, daughters, sisters, besties; with the amazing people that we are surrounded by who might be struggling like we have struggled… because body image is something that we need to be talking about!

We had a few awesome brands who support our blogs come on board with some amazing spot prizes so that we could give a little treat to the people who attended. A massive thank you to Skinfood, The Warehouse, Lost and Led Astray, Karen Murrell Natural Lipsticks, High Society, K&K Fashions and Birdsnest, because without them I wouldn’t be able to do what I do! So, with the film and an array of goodies (plus refreshments) in hand, off we went to Event Cinemas St Lukes to watch the documentary I’d seen being hailed as life altering.

After Taryn Brumfitt had her three children, she found herself in a place where she wasn’t happy with her body – something that a lot of us can relate to (whether we have kids or not!). She went on to pursue the “perfect body”, only realising when she obtained it that she wasn’t happy. Getting and maintaining that so called perfect body took too much sacrifice, time, obsession and it just wasn’t worth it.

Not wanting her own daughter to grow up hating her body, Taryn posed the question “why do so many women hate their bodies, and what can we do about it?”. This led her on a global search for answers, talking to experts, well-known personalities and everyday women like you or I about the body image issues we are seeing in people of all body types.

“The inspiration for EMBRACE came about after I posted an unconventional before-and-after image on the internet in 2013 that sparked an international media frenzy. The image, which embraces body diversity, was seen by over 100 million people worldwide and led to hundreds of interviews and articles. But I soon realized how restrictive 4-minute TV interviews, 800 word articles and 140 characters on Twitter can be. This issue needed a louder voice on a bigger platform, so the idea of creating the documentary EMBRACE was born.” – Embrace Director Taryn Brumfitt

There were a lot of moments during Embrace that I really related to – from looking in the mirror and hating what I saw, to being nude in front of a camera and embracing my body as it was in that moment. As I mentioned last week, I’ve spent a lot of time obsessing about my body over the years and missed out on great things in my life because of body insecurities, but I’m done. I’m not letting how my body looks hold me back from living my life anymore. This is just me, how I am, right now.

I really related to a lot of the body image battles that people spoke about, and I thought that Embrace was an affirmation of how I now approach my relationship with my body.

There’s something really powerful about being in a room with 160 other people as you all watch a documentary like Embrace that addresses something so personal as how we feel about our bodies. When I spoke to some of the attendees afterwards, they all seemed to have found at least one part of Embrace that really resonated with them. They recognised themselves in that moment, their body shape, their experiences, feelings that they shared.

We agreed that this is the kind of thing we need to be talking to our kids about. We need to be showing Embrace in schools. We need to be leading that discussion about bodies and body image, and leading by example.

This documentary made me think about how I (and my blog) fit within that space. I want to keep talking more about body image, and helping people to stop loathing and start loving their bodies. I want to keep sharing my style and I’d like to share more of other people’s style as well because I think that body diversity is incredibly important. I love being behind the camera, and photographing others, so I’m going to try and do that more. Is there something else that you think I could do that would help you or others with their body image? I’m pretty keen to give things a go and share the body love!

Find your local screening of Embrace or organise your own here.

Have you seen Embrace yet?
Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of it!