Two Canadian women of Asian descent are contemplating eyelid surgery. Maria and Sharon, of Philippino and Korean heritage respectively, believe their looks–specifically their eyes–get in the way of how people see them. Layering their stories with pop culture references to beauty icons and supermodels, filmmaker Ann Shin looks at the pain that lies deep behind the desire for plastic surgery.
Self
Self
01 Dec 2023
As doctors transform their patients, physical changes reveal deeper truths about insecurities and aspirations. From Botox to risky body-altering procedures, explore the need for perfection that drives $50 billion cosmetic surgery industry.
14 Oct 2014
A documentary about British model Precious Muir as she moves to new York to become a fashion model, and undergoes breast enhancement surgery to make it in the industry.
25 Jan 2020
In 1971, after being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to his parents’ homeland of Hong Kong to complete four iconic films. Charting his struggles between two worlds, this portrait explores questions of identity and representation through the use of rare archival footage, interviews with loved ones and Bruce’s own writings.
04 Feb 2024
Journalist Émilie Tran Nguyen invites the viewer to follow her in her quest and discover, at the same time as her, the historical origins of this anti-Asian racism. Told in the first person, alternating archive images, interviews with historians, sociologists and field sequences, this film traces the making of prejudices in the French imagination and pop culture, to twist the neck of stereotypes, deconstruct and act.
20 Feb 2011
51-year-old Jose Mestre from Lisbon, Portugal has endured a massive tumor on his face for the past 35 years. After it has grown up to 15 pounds, a generous benefactor pays for the 13 hour surgery to remove it.
31 Jan 2010
Twenty-eight of my family members and relatives have been operated at least once by my brother who is a plastic surgeon in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Having grown up as a 'work-in-progress' where the premise, myself, was constantly questioned, as an adult I had to ask my family: could that premise be changed?
22 Mar 2013
Four people turn to plastic surgery as the last resort in their search for perfection - their appearances will change, but will their lives?
In the age of surgically enhanced beauty and reality television, how do we perceive body image? MADE OVER IN AMERICA combines the style of reality television with experimental film to weave together the voices of producers and consumers, surgeons and their patients, clinical psychologists, media theorists, and youth who are coming of age in a culture where bodies seem to be customizable. Together they form a picture of how the desire for a better self operates within consumer culture and how this desire is fed by media, the makeover industry and culture at large.
13 Sep 1996
Portrait of the last year of the life of famous New York drag queen Consuela Cosmetic.
05 Oct 2006
A look at the reasons why every year 70,000 Iranians have a nose job.
Until the age of nine, Matan never knew his older sister had a rare syndrome. When she chooses to undergo plastic surgery to change her syndrome-induced appearance, it sets him on a 15-year journey to reexamine their childhood and the bond they shared.
07 Oct 2007
Louis Theroux: Under the Knife is a TV documentary written and presented by Louis Theroux about the people and doctors involved in plastic surgery operations. Filmed mostly in the USA, in the programme, Louis himself ends up getting liposuction.
01 Jan 1994
A documentary edited from ORLAN's seventh surgery in the The Reincarnation of Sainte-ORLAN series which aired live, vis satellite from New York in 1993.
28 Apr 2009
An age-obsessed daughter of a plastic surgeon takes a journey through America's $60 Billion a year anti-aging world. In this Alice-in Wonderland tale, McCabe spends 2 years traveling across America visiting doctors, experts and lives with a cross-section of characters from Minnesota to Texas who've gone to varying lengths to "beat the clock", to paint a funny but troubling portrait of a country that desperately needs to stay young.
06 Jun 2018
The life and career of the hailed Hollywood movie star and underappreciated genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.
06 Jul 1995
Documentary which exposes the truth of how 'human guinea pigs' were used in government-funded radiation experiments without their knowledge or consent. It uncovers a series of breaches of ethical codes as scientists pursued military, scientific or medical knowledge. Includes archive footage.
27 Oct 2022
Jakub Strach aka NobodyListen is a successful Czech DJ and music producer. A portrait of his life and work can be seen as a manifesto of the millennial club-going generation. After hundreds of shows and preparations for the upcoming, renowned Addict party, the DJ must deal with the consequences of inflicting a wound scarring his image. Footage from the club backstage mingles with scenes of everyday life in which NobodyListen ponders the dark sides of the club scene, like drugs and misogyny. During the shooting, the Covid pandemic strikes, revealing the insecurities of work in culture.
02 Apr 2024
A 38 minute documentary that investigates why antisemitism exploded in Bay Area High Schools after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. This comes after years of anti-Asian hate and anti-white hate.
12 Nov 2021
Seven Asian-Americans discuss their experiences with racism and the spike in Asian-directed hate crimes as a result of COVID-19.
26 Aug 2016
A portrait of a woman recovering from cosmetic surgery in Miami.