NOW YOU CAN ALSO WATCH THE FILM ON CORE
When a model leaves an abusive relationship, she starts making a film about beauty that ends up saving her life.
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SYNOPSIS: Our need to fit into a society, to be loved and accepted, create an abyss between who we are and who we become.
Cris Saur, was bullied in school for being taller and skinnier than the rest of the girls. Later she became a model for the exact same features she was bullied for.
The pressure for the perfect look left her with a very low self-esteem, and she only realised how damaged her self-esteem was after being physically abused by a former partner. Her distorted ideas of her role as a woman in our society, topped with her low self-esteem were the main reasons why she stayed so long in the abusive relationship. The abuse followed by depression and panic attacks were the catalyst of her quest for beauty.
NATIONAL PBS BROADCAST TOUR
We are thrilled to bring QUEST FOR BEAUTY to PBS audiences nationwide!
Check your local PBS listing for schedules ;)
Our Mantra:
(INNER) BEAUTY WILL SAVE THE WORLD
WHY MAKE THIS FILM?
Low self-esteem can create anxiety, stress, loneliness, and an increased likelihood of depression. It can cause problems with friendship and romantic relationship, also seriously impair academic and job performance, leading to vulnerability to drug and alcohol abuse. Studies have also shown a relation between domestic abuse and low self-esteem.
Low self-esteem is not yet a recognized mental illness, but it has a close relationship with mental health because it paves the way to some dreaded mental disorders.
The statistics on bully and suicide are alarming: suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 death per year. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14% of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7% have attempted it.
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
When I worked as a model, I used to think a lot about the nature of beauty. The question, “What does it mean to be beautiful?” was always in my head. I wondered if beauty has to mean being young, skinny, and super-tall. Or having shiny hair and flawless skin. Is that it?
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When I turned 30, I started freaking out. I was being told to lie about my age, that otherwise I’d never be cast for any jobs. I felt like a dairy product past my expiration date. Not even in my teen years I went through so much pressure and have my self-esteem pushed so low.
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A couple of years went by, and one day my (ex) fiancé called me “old.” All those monsters came out of the closet and stood right in front of me, waiting for me to respond. That was the beginning of my quest, and I didn’t even know it.
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Two days after breaking up with my ex-fiancé, I was back in Los Angeles, where I was invited to a special screening for the twentieth anniversary of Forest Gump. I will never forget the scene in which he writes a letter to Jane from the Vietnam War, saying how beautiful the place was and how wonderful the rain felt. Right then I thought to myself, “I need to make a film about this.”