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Logline

Three athletes – Rachael, Akoray, and Joe – grew up sacrificing their bodies for their sport, not realizing they were sacrificing their bodies to eating disorders. Through their personal wins and losses, we learn how the fierce drive of these elite athletes contributes to a dangerous mental illness – and may be their key to recovery.

Synopsis

Three athletes: Distance runner Rachel. Elite gymnast Akoray. College football kicker Joe.

Their bodies and their sports may seem dissimilar, but their stories overlap when the drive to succeed spirals out of control. Mental illness is considered a weakness in sports, yet it’s the extraordinary discipline and will of an elite that Rachael, Akoray and Joe harnessed to – as they describe it – be better at disordered eating than anyone else.

Why Don’t You Lose 5 Pounds? uses the rhythm of a sports story to guide viewers through the experience of an athlete battling an eating disorder. In any sports story the athlete suffers a loss that drives them to push themselves harder on the way to a final victory. Only in this movie, the drive that furthered the eating disorders of Rachael, Akoray and Joe is that same drive that must push them forward in recovery. And victory will mean something different for each of them.

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Meet the Filmmakers

Chris Blunk – Producer/Director

For over fifteen years Chris Blunk has produced and directed narrative, documentary, and commercial projects. Feature documentary films as a producer include Spiral Bound, a documentary on the role of the arts in the American education system, and the sports drama Jayhawkers, described by the New Yorker as one of the best film discoveries of 2020.

Nancy Kerrigan – Executive Producer

Nancy Kerrigan has been one of America’s most recognizable sports icons for over 20 years. In 1992, she earned a bronze medal in the Albertville Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 1992 World Championships. In 1993 Kerrigan became the United States Ladies Champion and followed that up with her historic silver medal performance at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics. In addition to her work on the ice, the two time Olympic medalist has regularly appeared on television and movies as an actor (Boy Meets World, Blades of Glory, Saturday Night Live, Skating with Celebrities) or commentator (Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Lifetime Network, Fox Sports, NBC Sports), and is well known for being instrumental in the creation of Halloween on Ice. Nancy has been a product endorser (Revlon, Reebok, Seiko, Campbell’s Soup, Old Navy), author (Artistry on Ice) and motivational speaker.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.