Local filmmaker addresses body image, eating disorders in upcoming project

Brittany Rafalak was raised in Colorado, but moved to Philadelphia in 2006 to pursue her bachelor of fine arts degree in film and digital video at the University of the Arts.

 

Now in pursuit of her master’s at the New School in New York City, Rafalak continues to reside in Mt. Airy, where she also works as a barista at High Point Cafe.

As her coursework at the New School comes to an end, Rafalak has begun working on her thesis, a short film titled “Consumption,” that will be filmed in Mt. Airy using local actors and will be accompanied by an improvised musical score composed by local musicians.

“With a low budget film like Consumption, it always makes sense to stay local if possible, but Mt. Airy just happens to also be the perfect location,” Rafalak said of her “near-futuristic” film that takes place in a dystopian society where food has been outlawed. “I needed a blend of urban and woodsy to create that kind of overgrown city look often associated with a dystopia.”

Consumption follows Corrine, a young woman who discovers food and struggles with her society’s almost barbaric rejection of the physical satiation of consumption.

The concept for the film is something Rafalak contemplated for quite some time.

“Experiencing and overcoming my own eating and body image issues, I began thinking about what life would be like without food and without hunger,” Rafalak said. “The film touches upon that but also speaks to judgement and perspective… the ways in which we often view or judge the practices of people or cultures different than our own.”

With casting under way, Rafalak has chosen local actress Rhym Guisse as the role of Corrine and plans to start filming in August.

A recent indiegogo online fundraising campaign raised just over half the film’s total costs, enough for the filming and editing. Rafalak is still seeking donors to aid in post-production and screening costs.