Slim Obsession
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''Slim Obsession'' is a 1984 Canadian short
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
directed by
Donald Shebib Donald Everett Shebib (27 January 1938 – 5 November 2023) was a Canadian film and television director. Shebib was a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board ...
and produced by Bonita Seigel and Sig Gerber, about a small-town school teacher (Susan Wright), who, after moving to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, begins to diet and exercise to excess, almost destroying her marriage and her own physical and mental health. The film was made for the anthology series '' For the Record'' and garnered an award at the
Columbus International Film Festival The Columbus International Film + Animation Festival is a Columbus, Ohio, United States annual film festival which is designed to encourage and promote the use of film and video in all forms of education and communication. It is the first and o ...
. Wright won an
ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has over 30,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. Th ...
for her performance in 1985.


Synopsis

Liz (Susan Wright) is a small town school teacher who, after moving to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, begins to feel she must lose weight in order to be accepted by a society that judges women by their figures. She becomes obsessed with dieting and exercise to the detriment of her physical health and emotional well-being.


Themes

Richard Collins describes ''Slim Obsession'' as the depiction of the experience and consequences of a "general social problem", namely the "attempt to conform to the prescribed norm of female beauty", a goal which is not only self-defeating but self-destructive. Collins relates this theme to a more general or universal theme of control, "the general human project of achieving command over the world" and notes that the film "displays a number of Shebib's authorial markings" in that his films are often about loners.


Production


Background

Sig Gerber took over as executive producer of '' For the Record'' in 1983, in its eighth season. Like his predecessors, he emphasised the role of the series as an honest look at problems in Canadian society. Gail Henley remarked in 1985 that ''For the Record'' dramas were "information laden" when compared to their more emotional American counterparts and emphasises the importance of research and documentation for the series. ''Slim Obsession'' was one of twelve dramas made about women by the series, and the second made by
Donald Shebib Donald Everett Shebib (27 January 1938 – 5 November 2023) was a Canadian film and television director. Shebib was a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board ...
, after '' By Reason of Insanity'' (1982).


Filming

''Slim Obsession'' was filmed in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, which is also, as Richard Collins notes, "unmistakably" the story's setting, as neither flags nor license plates were obscured.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
was scheduled for 20 April through 6 May 1983.


Release and reception

''Slim Obsession'' was first broadcast on 11 March 1984 and was shown the same year at the
Columbus International Film Festival The Columbus International Film + Animation Festival is a Columbus, Ohio, United States annual film festival which is designed to encourage and promote the use of film and video in all forms of education and communication. It is the first and o ...
.


Distribution

The film was sold to overseas markets in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...
,
Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
,
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, and
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
.


Critical response

Richard Collins calls ''Slim Obsession'' a "finely produced, modest drama" that transcends "both naturalistic concentration on an individual history and abstract sociological discourse about a big social problem." Shebib's film perfectly exemplifies the
Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...
ian "little subject" where an extensive representation is created out of a relatively modest subject.


Accolades

*
Columbus International Film Festival The Columbus International Film + Animation Festival is a Columbus, Ohio, United States annual film festival which is designed to encourage and promote the use of film and video in all forms of education and communication. It is the first and o ...
, Chris Bronze Plaque, 1984 *
ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.Slim Obsession
' on IMDb {{Donald Shebib 1984 drama films 1984 films Canadian drama films Films directed by Donald Shebib Films about eating disorders 1980s Canadian films