Body Typed

About the Project

Body Typed is a series of four short films that deal with body image and self esteem, including Wet Dreams and False Images, The Guarantee, 34x25x36, and Skin.

For Wet Dreams and False Images, Epstein's thesis, which went on to win the Sundance Online Jury Award in '04, she filmed men in a Brooklyn barbershop who adore the glossy magazine pinups of J. Lo and Beyoncé hanging on their walls. But in a clever twist Epstein takes the same images to a touch-up artist who reveals their heavy amount of airbrushing and tweaking. Next came The Guarantee, a funny look at a male ballet dancer's decision to have plastic surgery told through the drawings of a sketch artist, and 34x25x36, a visit to a company that makes unrealistically perfect mannequins. "What I love about short films is you can get in there, raise some questions, tell a little story and get out, leaving it all open for discussion," Epstein says.

The Fledgling Fund Impact

The Fledgling Fund is excited to support Body Typed. We believe these shorts make us look at the world, and ourselves in a different way. Jesse's ability to find the irony and humor in body image creates a compelling and powerful story.