Taryn Brumfitt says "the world will be a kinder place" with new documentary Embrace Kids
In 2016, Taryn Brumfitt’s documentary Embrace stripped away layers of loathing to promote positive body image. This September, following the release of her and Dr Zali Yager’s new book, the acclaimed director, best-selling author and internationally recognised body image advocate brings us Embrace Kids.
Talking to school-aged children, Brumfitt explores body dissatisfaction, bullying, gender identity, advocacy, representation and more. Influencers and celebrity friends, including Celeste Barber, Jameela Jamil, Electric Fields and Amy Sheppard, join in on the discussion, advocating for the acceptance of one’s true self, beginning with examining the way we use social media and how we fall into its traps.
Brumfitt bares all for Popcorn Podcast, sharing hilarious behind-the-scenes moments from Embrace Kids, the triumphs of documentary filmmaking and an exclusive scoop on her body positivity trilogy.
Taryn Brumfitt believes body positivity begins in youth
When did you come up with the idea for Embrace Kids?
The number-one piece of feedback I had from Embrace, from millions of people in over 190 countries, was, ‘I wish I'd seen this film when I was younger.’ It's really hard to fix a problem. It makes so much more sense to prevent a problem.
In Australia, 77 per cent of young Australians cite body image is their number-one concern. So I knew that we wanted to get in really early, for 9-14 year-olds, but there's a bit of wiggle room either side. Embrace Kids has a G-rating, which is lovely. Everyone can go see it. But yeah, it was out of a need. Kids were suffering, kids were feeling helpless – actually, kids were suffering; adults and parents were feeling a bit helpless about what we could do to support them.
What was it like returning to the director’s chair after six years?
It felt great. I really enjoy leading a team and having a vision and getting the right people on the bus, as I put it. There's nothing like it. I think as the director, writer, producer, and the person who will be in front of all the audiences and doing all the interviews, it's really important for me to say that one person doesn't make a film. It is the most beautiful, collaborative team effort. And I think, when you get everyone working in their genius, and working with teams with no ego – people who aren't afraid to say, ‘I'm not sure what to do here’ – we can talk through the issues. Let me tell you, when making a film during COVID, there was quite a few of those moments.
What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered with COVID?
Just getting locked down. I remember on one particular occasion, we were going to Queensland and we got locked down there, and we were trying to see if we could get someone across the border to New South Wales because we could interview them there. Then that got locked down. And Victoria got locked down. It was just… challenging. Also, not being able to travel overseas, I had to set up satellite crew and direct from here. But we got there in the end.
You wouldn't know that the film was filmed during COVID because we did a pretty good job of hiding that. We wanted the film to be timeless. And when a lot of production companies were closing down and saying no, we went, ‘Nope, this is too important. We need to get this film out to the kids.’ So we kept going. We aged about 100 years, I will say that much.
Gained a few grey hairs?
[Laughs] That’s okay! We embrace our aging.
Filming Embrace Kids during a pandemic presented some challenges for Brumfitt and crew
Why was it important for you to bring this message to the screen, beyond the page?
Because the power of film! Film is a hugely powerful way to tell stories and to be able to see people and see the tears and see the joy and see the dancing. That's what this film has – it has a lot of joy in it. We chose to walk the path of light.
We could have very easily gone down the rabbit hole of showing how big a problem it is and how negative it is. That's what you want to do with storytelling. You want to build up this massive problem and then go on the journey to fix it. But we couldn't do that with Embrace Kids because we didn't want to do any more damage to kids by setting up the problem. We wanted kids to be able to see this film if they didn't have body image issues and not go, ‘Oh, maybe I should be worried about my body, too?’ We needed to be very careful of that.
We had to push ourselves creatively when we couldn't set up some of the problem, we actually used dogs as an example because dogs come in all different shapes and sizes and abilities. We know it can be damaging to say, ‘Here's a stereotypical bikini body that you see in advertising and media.’ So instead, we showed these dogs.
We worked with our cinematographer Benjamin Dowie – I've worked with him for a number of years, and he is just brilliant in every way – the calmest, coolest Director of Photography ever. On ‘dog day’ at the beach with 20 dogs, I said, ‘How are you going? How's your day?’ And he joked, ‘Taryn, it's the worst day of my life.’
They say never work with kids or animals, and you had both!
And do you know what? I’m a better person for it. We had 18 kids in that film, plus all the other cast, and they were nothing short of brilliant. It sounds cheesy, but they made me want to be a better person in the world. They also gave me a huge amount of hope. We have all sorts of problems on the planet that we need to fix, and I really feel that we're in very capable hands with this next generation. They're a whole lot smarter than I was when I was their age.
Brumfitt shares the set was as much about having fun as real talk
Embrace HQ is a space of compassion and acceptance, but how did you create an environment where the kids felt safe to be vulnerable and honest with cameras pointed at them?
That all came down to the crew. Anyone I work with has to be a good person and a nice person and have no ego. That's my own very personal rules about who I surround myself with personally or professionally. They all got it; they all understood. We had a lot of support workers, too. We had psychologists, our creative team, producers and all the runners. There was more crew than there was cast.
Also, in the lead-up to HQ and those filming days, we unpacked the schedule to make sure we had enough breaks, the kids had enough yummy food to feel nourished throughout the day and that they had fun. When we cast those kids, as well, I was looking for kids who could deal with a camera or two. To be resilient enough to deal with that and handle the pressure, if that's what it came to. I don't think it did. In the end, the kids had a ball. I mean, one kid was saying to me, I think we were an hour into filming, ‘Can we go to the park?’ It’s like, ‘We've got things to do. But let me tell you, we've got the best catering in the world for you kids. There's a delicious lunch coming…’ [Laughs]
There are many emotional moments in the film. Was there a particularly hard day on set?
I think the hardest times were just listening to the kids’ stories, especially when they were talking about parents, or adults in general, and how they spoke negatively about their bodies. And there was almost a bit of fear there from the kids, like, ‘I don't want that to happen to me.’ I think those vulnerable moments where they were opening up – and we didn't get to see all of that in the final cut of the film, because that's another documentary altogether: how kids feel about adults giving their body grief. I could make five features on that! But, as a parent, I was really moved by how much they were tapped into and how much they saw from the world around them. These comments: ‘I'm going for a run because I ate chocolate cake’ or ‘Gosh, you look amazing; You've lost some weight.’ All these things kids are taking in and it's actually having a really negative impact on them. So let's just stop.
Writer, director and producer Brumfitt on the set of Embrace Kids
Why did you feel the need to expand your focus beyond just body shape and size for this one?
We covered off some big subjects, from gender stereotyping to disability and inclusion representation, because it all meets with body image. If there's a lack of representation, then we worry that there's something wrong with us. It makes us feel good when we're seen – whether it's on the TV or on a billboard. It actually surprised me when I first started the project, thinking that it was going to be just body image, but then the more I learned, the more I explored, and the more people I spoke to, it just became so obvious to go there.
They're not easy subjects to sit around the table and go, ‘Hey, let's talk about gender stereotyping tonight.’ I think what this film has done, and it's my biggest hope for this film, is that it can open up a conversation for families. They see somebody, they hear their story and they can unpack it in their home and come up with their own interpretation of how they feel. Given that we've provided everyone who sees this film with remarkable role models in each of those categories – whether it's disability, gender stereotyping or inclusion representation – I truly believe the world will be a kinder place once people have seen this film.
Embrace Kids focuses a lot on the damage social media can do to your body image, but also the recent turn-around with influencers becoming more body positive. Looking at the future of social media, do you think it's still going to do more harm than good?
Maybe? Yes? Possibly?
There's been a huge amount of change, just even in the ten years that I've been working in this space. When my story went viral, it was this massive media frenzy globally. I mean, if I did that now, it’d probably be like, ‘Meh, yeah, whatever’. I had to explain to people what body image was 10 years ago as part of my talks. Now we get it. Now we're seeing more representation.
But I would like to think that anyone who has social media right now can empower themselves to make it a safe and positive space themselves. It's what I teach kids when I go to schools: who do you let into your life? You wouldn't let a mean person into your circle of friends, so why would you let them onto your phone? Who are you following and why?
Actually, one of the four pillars of what sits behind the film is finding positive role models. And we showcase a whole heap of them in the film. But I think that we need to take back the power in terms of how we relate to and use social media. I think it can be a phenomenal place for change, and a great way to connect with people and to get a message out there. You’ve just got to use it in the most positive and empowering way.
Celebrities, including actor Jameela Jamil and musician Amy Sheppard, were invaluable assets to the film. When Celeste Barber broke the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience, it made me blush! How did you get these artists and influencers to come onboard?
Well, Celeste Barber is an executive producer on the film, alongside Teresa Palmer and Natasha Stott Despoja. Amy Sheppard’s a friend of mine. And Jameela Jamil was a friend of Celeste, so I didn't know Jameela before this film. I knew that I wanted her to be in it. I was very grateful Celeste was able to help set that up because even just the way Jameela says, ‘Block, mute, delete, repeat’ – wow! Just those four words. She's so powerful. Even her vulnerability talking about being an activist, just being honest in her truth, you know, no storytelling... I hope that kids will watch that and then understand that activism doesn't need to be this big, bold marching thing that we do. You can change one person's life and that's really meaningful, too.
The secret to success, Brumfitt reveals, is surrounding yourself with good, nice people
You have a fairly large female filmmaking team behind you. Was it a conscious decision to collaborate with so many women?
Well, that's an interesting one. Ten years ago, when I started the Body Image Movement, I was very much ‘girl power’ and ‘power to the women!’ And that's changed for me personally, too. For me, it's more about humanity and how we treat each other, because it's become so less about gender these days anyway. It's just about who you are and what you contribute and what you do and how kind you are. It just so happens to be that the women in my life, and the women I worked with, were the best. We've got the best film because of it.
But do you recognise you might be a powerful idol to women who want to get into filmmaking?
I don't know. I would hope that even if it's not directing or filmmaking, but anything you want to do in life. I mean, I was a high school dropout. English was my worst subject. I've just written four best-selling books and I have a couple of good films under the belt now. It's about backing yourself. When you have an exceptional relationship with your body and who you are, and you're kind to yourself, it's like a superpower. As a motivational speaker, I’m not like, ‘You can do anything’ because I don't believe we can. But we can do most things. And we're certainly assured of more success when we're kind to ourselves, we back ourselves and we're our own best friends.
Ten years ago, did you ever imagine the widespread impact the Body Image Movement would have on the world?
No. It started off as Body Image Campaign, and then I very boldly changed the name to Body Image Movement. Talking in this space of creating a global movement, I didn't know exactly what I was doing, but I knew I had a lot of passion and enthusiasm to get the word out. We've reached more than 200 million people globally. The first film was seen in 190 countries on Netflix. And whenever I'm over in the US, journos or the media ask me, ‘Did you feel overwhelmed trying to create a global movement of change?’ In a non-cocky way, I'm like, ‘No, I don't, because I've never met a single person who's learned to embrace their body and regretted the decision to do so.’ I’ve never seen it once! And it doesn't mean you have to hashtag #loveyourbody either. You might just be okay with your body; you might just feel neutral about your body. That's all cool as well. I just think we’ve got to realise that this is not the ornament in life, it's the vehicle, and get on with it.
Embrace Kids is in Australian cinemas from September 1
So far, how does the reception of Embrace Kids compare to 2016’s Embrace?
It's only just begun. We've just premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival. It's a different film, that's for sure. But people are still crying, people are still laughing. The feedback I'm getting is that it's a really important film, and I strongly believe that. We had a team of not only creatives, but also a health professional team, led by Dr Zali Yager, who ensured everything that's in the film is safe and effective for kids. I think that's where most of the friction came from. As a filmmaker, I wanted to do certain things, but I couldn't. So, I felt sort of held back. As I mentioned earlier, because of the dogs, phew, we got there. But we definitely know that this is a film that has the ability to change lots of kids’ lives and help them build a foundation of values that's based on who they are and what they do, as opposed to what they look like.
Is there another group you think Embrace could target in the future? Perhaps Embrace Middle-Agers?
I'm in research and development for Embrace Men. I've been working on that quietly for the last couple of years, just trying to get some of the ideas out. Embrace Men will finish off the trilogy, for sure. Then, I don't know. I say I'll take a little break, but I doubt it. There's a lot to be done. But Embrace Men can be a really important film as well, because we've been talking about women and body image for a number of years, but there's a lot of hidden stories that men are feeling a lot of shame and trauma over. So it’d be nice to get that one out. Then we're all on the same page. Women, men, kids, whoever you are. However you show up in the world, there's some goodness in documentary film for you.
