A monthly film series promoting professional and community education on issues pertaining to mental health and illness. Presented by The Cinematheque and the Institute of Mental Health, UBC Department of Psychiatry. Screenings are generally held on the third Wednesday of each month at The Cinematheque, 1131 Howe St, Vancouver, BC.
Inedia
Canada 2024 (107 min. DCP)
Director: Liz Cairns
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 @ 7:00pm
The Cinematheque (1131 Howe St)
Film Description
“[Cairns] has made an atmospheric debut feature that immerses us in an eerie, unsettling world … Through its heroine, the film explores themes of desire for escape, pain, and grief, all within a halo of strangeness and ethereal poetry, enhanced by the grain of 16mm film.” – Festival du nouveau cinéma 2024
While straining to emotionally connect with those around her, a young woman named Cora experiences debilitating and painful allergic reactions to food. Looking for answers to her medical mystery, Cora discovers Sun Haven, an isolated community practicing breatharianism—the pseudoscientific belief that humans can survive solely on light and air. Set on a Gulf Island in British Columbia, Inedia creates, with glistening 16mm cinematography, a trance-like atmosphere mirroring Cora’s fragile mental state. After a series of unsettling events, Cora notices cracks of darkness hiding in the corners of her new community, revealing how vulnerability can be exploited under the guise of healing. Cairns’s screenplay offers a suspenseful and nuanced portrayal of eating disorders and group manipulation, resulting in one of the most compelling Canadian dramas of the past year.
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Post-screening Discussion:
Post-screening discussion with writer-director Liz Cairns.
Liz Cairns is a filmmaker from Vancouver, Canada, and an alumni of the Berlinale and Reykjavik talent labs. Her short films have played at festivals including TIFF, Palm Springs, Interfilm Berlin, and Festival du Nouveau Cinéma. Her first feature Inedia premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival and had its American premiere at Mill Valley, where Cairns was nominated for the Mind-the-Gap Creation Prize.
The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, the Series Director of Frames of Mind and a Clinical Professor in the UBC Department of Psychiatry.
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