My Child Has Stopped Eating!
We live at a time when the cult of the body has reached extremes. It is no longer a question of being thin and healthy - these days, size zero is the goal. The role models of today's teenagers and young women are pop stars or contestants from on "Germanys Next Topmodel" - their bodies continuously on display in videos or onstage. Your body is simply who you are. In Germany, one study shows that the incidence of anorexia nervosa among girls has increased around 50% in recent years. An alarming indicator, and a situation that leaves affected families reeling. What happens when this illness strikes? How did the body culture develop into a force destroys relationships between parents and children? When a daughter becomes anorexic, what questions must parents ask themselves about the way they have been raising their children? How can a family - including the afflicted individual and her siblings - join together to defeat this malady? Growing numbers of parents find themselves confronted with these questions: How do we convey to children - especially daughters - an awareness of what it means to have a healthy body, to have an appropriate self-image? What goes on at home when – although both parents are sure they have done their best - a daughter develops an eating disorder? Once a child is affected, the priority is to obtain medical help and psychological counseling. The film strives to address this topic from the perspective of parents and siblings, and to accompany a family over a period of months as they come to terms with this painful but also hopeful process.
