THE STORY
Pinch is a short drama about 18-year-old Abby who in her final year of school finds herself unable to dance after an injury and wrestles with the pressures of family, friends and a silent illness. This short film aims to shed light on the growing epidemic of mental illnesses especially facing our youth. We hope through Pinch to contribute to the normalisation of conversations concerning mental health and especially eating disorders.
WHO IT'S TOLD BY
Pinch's creator Aimee Patmore and Producer Anna Dvorak, As women, have both always wanted to prioritise fellow women in the industry and other minorities who have been under-represented. As a result, we have a 100% female cast and 80% of the crew are female or non-binary. We believe the hard work and talent of every single cast and crew member is evident in the film and has made it a story that resonates with us all in different ways.
WHY NOW
Pinch was an idea formed in the midst of the pandemic where mental illnesses have become even more of a growing issue in Australia and globally. The World Health Organisation reported a 25% increase in prevailing anxiety and depression after the pandemic. Mental illnesses are often known as silent illnesses because one does not necessarily exhibit externally visible signs or symptoms and thus can be more frequently overlooked. We explore this in our protagonist Abby through her self-harming behaviour of pinching, we use the bruises from her pinching as an external visual representation of her internal illness.
We chose to focus on the illness of eating disorders as we have noticed a high amount of people struggling with eating disorders or disordered eating, especially among women. Statistics show that 15% of all women will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime according to Eating Disorders Victoria. Therefore through Pinch, we hope to inspire conversations around health and wellbeing and empower those who might know someone suffering to have a better understanding.
