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THIN is the centerpiece of a multi-faceted campaign designed to explore issues
surrounding body image and eating disorders, including a companion book, traveling
exhibition of Greenfield's work and a website. An educational resource guide for the
documentary THIN has also been developed to accompany the film for use by individuals,
educators and community groups nationwide. It will reach approximately two million high
school students and 15,000 college professors directly with a downloadable guide
available online. For more on the THIN campaign - the book, exhibit, educational guide and DVD - visit hbo.com or thindocumentary.com.
Eating disorders affect five million people in the U.S., and more than 10% of those
diagnosed with anorexia nervosa will die from the disease. Seeking to put a human face
on these sobering statistics, acclaimed photographer Lauren Greenfield went inside a
Florida treatment center to tell the stories of four women who are literally dying to be thin.
The devastating HBO documentary THIN reveals what she found there - and explores
the issues underlying their illness.
Lauren Greenfield began documenting eating disorders in 1997, first for a Time
magazine story, and then for her book "Girl Culture." Having previously shot photographs
at the 40-bed Renfrew Center in Coconut Creek, Fla., she returned to the facility to direct
the documentary THIN, which she produced in collaboration with producer R.J. Cutler.
Living at the center for six months, Greenfield and director of photography Amanda
Micheli earned the patients' trust, receiving unprecedented access to the meetings,
therapy sessions and meals that make up daily life for those undergoing treatment.
Through interviews, still photographs and behind-the-scenes footage, the film tells the
stories of four women between ages 15 and 30 whose pasts may be different, but are
now joined by a common illness.
THIN focuses on four young women struggling with anorexia. Brittany is a 15-
year-old striving to be thin in order to gain acceptance among her peers; her struggle with
eating disorders originated when she was eight, first as an over-eater, then as an
anorexic and bulimic. Shelly, 25, has battled anorexia for six years, and enters Renfrew
with a feeding tube surgically implanted in her stomach. Alisa, 30, is a divorced mother of
two who arrives at Renfrew following five hospital stays in three months and claims she
doesn't want to recover. Polly, 29, has spent years in and out of treatment and often
challenges the center's policies and procedures.
The camera follows these women to places most people will never venture, from
early-morning weight checks, to emotionally draining mealtimes, to tearful therapy
sessions, as well as tense encounters with staff and family members. Each woman's
fight for recovery is unique. Some will sabotage their own treatment. Others will make
significant strides. And others will make progress, only to discover that their insurance
won't cover the long-term care they need to truly recover.
THIN also chronicles the efforts of Renfrew's therapists, counselors and nurses.
Despite their vigilance, patients sometimes relapse into purging or hiding food; other
times, patients are forced to leave when their insurance runs out. In one emotionally
charged incident, a patient is expelled from the facility for her history of disruption, despite
her mother's vehement protests that she be kept at the clinic longer.
Unflinching and incisive, THIN is an emotional journey through the world of eating
disorders that provides a greater understanding of their complexity, encompassing not
just issues of food, body image or self-esteem, but also a mix of personal, familial,
cultural and mental health concerns.
THIN was selected for competition at the 2006 Sundance Film festival and won the
best feature-length documentary award at the London Film Festival. It has also screened
at Hot Docs and Full Frame, as well as film festivals in Chicago, Vancouver, Austin, St.
Louis, Ojai, Galway and Sweden. It received the 2006 Documentary Grand Jury Prize at
the Boston Independent Film Festival, Newport International Film Festival and Jackson
Hole Film Festival. THIN has also been nominated for an International Documentary
Association Award.
THIN is Lauren Greenfield's directorial debut. Named one of the 25 most
influential people in photography (and one of only three women cited) by American Photo
magazine, her photos have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, New Yorker,
Time, People, National Geographic and other publications, and displayed in museums
and galleries across the U.S. and abroad. Her first two books, "Fast Forward: Growing
Up in the Shadow of Hollywood" and "Girl Culture," were optioned as feature films.
R.J. Cutler won an Emmy® Award in the Non-Fiction Program (Reality) category in
2001 for "American High" and produced "The War Room," the Oscar®-nominated
documentary about Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. Cutler's other producing
credits include the series "30 Days," featuring Morgan Spurlock, the Peabody-Award-
winning "Heat," and, most recently, the series "Black/White."
THIN is an HBO Documentary Films presentation; directed by Lauren Greenfield;
produced by R.J. Cutler, Lauren Greenfield, Amanda Micheli and Ted Skillman; director
of photography, Amanda Micheli; edited by Kate Amend; original music by Miriam Cutler.
For HBO: senior producer, Lisa Heller; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.
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