‘Your Fat Friend’: Shifting Perspectives on Body Image – Sheffield DocFest Audience Award Winner

The 30th edition of Sheffield DocFest ended today and also announced the annual Audience Award Winner. With over 4,000 votes, Your Fat Friend, directed by Jeanie Finlay, took home the award. 

This film originally had its world premiere during the Tribeca Fest on June 8, then came over to Northern England for its international premiere at the Sheffield DocFest. Your Fat Friend aims to challenge and dismantle deeply ingrained prejudices surrounding body image. In a world obsessed with unattainable beauty standards, the film seeks to redefine how society perceives fat individuals and prompts viewers to reevaluate their own relationships with their bodies. By exploring the experiences and emotions of fat individuals, the documentary shines a light on the systemic biases they face and the detrimental impact these prejudices have on their lives.

To bring a film home to Sheff DocFest, a festival that I have been coming to and showing films at for 20 years, has been incredibly emotional and meaningful…,” says Finlay. “This is my ninth feature film, my most personal yet. I thought I had made a film for myself, so to receive the audience award is so wonderful… We can’t wait to take the film out into the world.

The incredible response and the Audience Award victory at Sheffield DocFest serve as a testament to the film’s resonance with viewers. Your Fat Friend has struck a chord with audiences who have embraced its powerful message of empathy and understanding. By sharing personal stories and experiences, the documentary humanizes individuals who have often been subjected to ridicule and discrimination. Sheffield DocFest Creative Director Raul Niño Zambrano had this to say:

It has been overwhelming watching how films have resonated with our audiences at Sheffield DocFest and in particular Your Fat Friend, Jeanie Finlay’s heartwarming portrait of writer and activist Aubrey Gordon, made it clear that documentary really empowers discussion, empathy and connection… People travelled from across the U.K. to see this film, and connect with its maker and subject, a real testament to the power of non-fiction narratives to represent real life experience of those who can so often be overlooked.