Denver seventh graders Olivia Maloney and Cameron Dreyer created “You Are Beautiful” for a school project. The mostly silent film features a girl named Abbey, who has an eating disorder. It was the first film for both girls, and it has gone on to win award after award, including first place in the middle school category at the My Hero International Film Festival and Best Student Film at the 2013 Colorful Colorado Film Festival. When asked why they chose this particular subject matter, Cameron told reporters, “We made this film because we love filmmaking, and we wanted to get the message out about eating disorders. It is a very sad problem in society today that shouldn’t even be an issue.”
We here at Germ applaud not only their message but their art. And we’d love to see more films like this. Have one to share? Please let us know!