Ep 063: Empire Waist’s Exploration of Body Image and Teen Friendship
Today we have a special guest and dear friend of Heather’s, Claire Ayoub. Claire is a writer, a director, an advocate, an educator, a leader, and an amazing friend to all – she also has the debut of her feature film, EMPIRE WAIST, coming out THIS FRIDAY, September 27th at a theater near you!
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Empire Waist follows a group of teens learning to love their bodies through inclusive fashion design and friendship. Not only do we talk about this amazing film, but we also discuss body image, body representation, and how learning to love yourself exactly as you are can sometimes feel like a radical act.
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Music: Deppisch
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ABOUT OUR GUEST
Claire Ayoub is a writer, director, and performer on a mission to create entertaining, educational, and empowering stories through her production company Try Anyway Productions. Claire is the writer/director of the upcoming feature film EMPIRE WAIST, a heartfelt dramedy about teens learning to love their bodies through fashion design, and co-creator of The Empire Waist Confidence Curriculum, a free and vetted resource tweens, teens & adults to process their own body image and self-confidence struggles. The film is being distributed worldwide by Blue Fox Entertainment, beginning with a North American theatrical release on September 27th, 2024. The film has won Best Empowerment Film and Best Social Impact Film at Sedona International Film Festival, Wavemaker Award: Best FutureWave Feature, and Best Feature at the Coney Island Film Festival, and is being distributed worldwide by Blue Fox Entertainment. The script was named the #1 Comedy on The Black List and selected for both the Black List Feature Lab and Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship at Sundance.
Claire is also the creator of THE GYNOKID, an award-winning solo comedy show about growing up as the child of small-town gynecologists that encourages audiences to laugh and learn about their bodies. OPEN WIDE, her TV pilot version of The GynoKid, was named a Finalist for the 2023 PAGE Awards. Claire has also written for Amy Poehler's Smart Girls and is the creator behind two web series: “A Series of Comebacks” (2015) and “Your Hair Looks Great Today” (2018).
REFERENCES
Empire Waist: www.EmpireWaistFilm.com
The Empire Waist Confidence Curriculum
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Other episodes you’ll enjoy:
The Big C: Breast Cancer and Mental Health - Episode 058
Causeway and Traumatic Brain Injury - Episode 042
Investigating Inequality Across Film and TV - Episode 041