All of Me

Broadcast on PBS Independent Lens

"Recommended. This painfully honest program offers a poignant look at the psychological and social challenges of obesity, weight loss, and body image."
—- Booklist (ALA)

"Editor's Choice. Strongly recommended.The film follows three articulate and perceptive women, who talk about the physical, social and psychological dimensions of their lives before and after (bariatric) surgery. It is hard to imagine anyone seeing this film who will not subsequently see massively obese women through different eyes."
—- Science Books and Films (AAAS)

"Recommended especially for health, human biology, and psychology classes as it raised interesting misconceptions and issues regarding hatred towards fat people and acceptance of non–traditional body morphologies. Speaking as a scientist, I found the information on weight loss surgery to be accurate and the video of the surgery, including shots done with an internal camera, to be fascinating."
—- Lisa Pike, NSTA Recommends

“Outstandingly potent. This coolly penetrating film honors women who address the reality of their lives with ferocious eloquence.”
—- Wall Street Journal

“Fat people aren’t very visible on American television, and when they appear, it tends to be in one of a few approved roles: comic props in blue-collar reality series, cautionary figures in exploitative medical shows, huffing and puffing contestants in weight-loss competitions. All of Me is a welcome exception. Its examination of obesity is serious, intimate and not at all sensationalistic, despite some graphic images of weight-loss surgery and its consequences.”
—- New York Times

“All of Me is a powerful, poignant, and gripping documentary that takes viewers inside the everyday lives and struggles of large women in the United States today. Timely in its subject matter—All of Me provides an often missing and much needed perspective on the subject as we learn about obesity from women who are actually living it. A must-see film, All of Me debunks commonly held, superficial stereotypes about obesity and obese individuals.”
—- Abigail Brooks, PhD., Director of Women’s Studies, Assist. Professor of Sociology, Providence College

“Fat pride is a key theme for these women, as is fat shame, and more often than not these feelings seem inextricably connected. The audience is left to sympathize and cry as well as celebrate with the women in this film as their lives change (or not) in light of decisions they make. Their lives and emotions are rich, and they leave audiences with much to feel and discuss.”
—- Meika Loe, PhD., Director of Women's Studies, Assoc. Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, Colgate University

“The film does a wonderful job exploring how surgery changes more than just bodies – it changes relationships.”
—- Dr. Brian Sabowitz, MD, FACP, CCD, bariatric surgeon and WLS patient

“The movie was very well done and so frank. It showed the real struggles of those who suffer with obesity both before and after weight loss surgery. We were all moved by the lives of these women.”
—- Katy Merriman, Surgical Specialists, Shreveport, LA

“All of Me grapples with the (often fraught) conversations surrounding weight loss surgery with inexhaustible compassion.”
—- Kaye Toal www.bigfatfeminist.com

“All of Me is the intriguing story of the elements of the weight-loss journey we don’t communally talk about but always linger in the shadows of our struggles with obesity. It is truly a story of love, loss and last resorts.”
—- John Archibeque, MSN, CBSGL, RN, Bariatric Surgery Program Coordinator, The Bariatric Center at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center, Austin, Texas

“Lescaze's movie represents the joy and pain in the lives of people who have become obese over time, examines the complicated consequences that each woman faces, and shines the spotlight on the stigma of being overweight in our culture.”
—- Matt Shiverdecker, Slackerwood