Maria & The Demon
Synopsis
A story about an adult woman who reaches the absolute bottom as she almost starves to death from anorexia. She survives with the help of her surroundings, her stubbornness and a little luck. She then turns her life around and discovers the reason why she became sick in the first place.
MARIA & THE DEMON is a documentary film about a psychiatry teacher who wakes up in an Emergency Room (ER) and realises that she only has a few weeks to beat her anorexia if she wants to survive. After much anxiety, therapy and hard inner struggles against her own mirror image, she finally meets the worst demon of them all – the reason why she became ill.
Director's statement
Eating disorders are often associated with a lot of shame and contempt. Many sufferers try everything to conceal their illness. Meanwhile, the number of people diagnosed every year increases. Both within care and the media, eating disorders are often associated with young girls and teenagers, even though there are still many struggling in adulthood. Last year, Maria contacted me. She had seen my previous documentary ”UNTIL CANCER DO US PART" several times and wondered if I was interested in making a film about eating disorders. Maria is 46 years old and suffers from very severe anorexia nervosa. The paradox is that she has treated girls with the same disease as her own, but she is completely unable to care for herself. When the film begins, her illness has taken over and her doctor is diagnosing her condition as very critical. When I started to immerse myself in the subject area, it became apparent that within my personal circle of acquaintances there were actually three women who, in adulthood, suffer from eating disorders! I got very close access to Maria with my camera and have been lucky to also get the most emotional and vulnerable moments on film. This is a story for all the women that are secretly suffering from an eating disorder and for all their relatives and friends.
Production
1x90 minutes
Available thru: Christine Klaver / SHK
Soundtrack: https://open.spotify.com/album/65Oj25cnPJvm0ZHP7Dz9Kg?si=0-G1MSxJS2a_DEPXhAJ1LA