Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image

Alesha: Look But Don't Touch

2008

Documentary in which singer Alesha Dixon, concerned about the increasing pressure on women to conform to an ideal body type, investigates the practice of airbrushing and retouching that has become a staple of magazine photos. Keen to discover whether these images simply celebrate the female form or whether they make harmful, unrealistic demands on women and society, her journey sees her sitting in on 18-year-old Ellie's boob job, hearing fashion mag insider Liz Jones and celeb mate Cheryl Cole complain about the beauty industry and appearing on a front cover with her own body beautiful untouched.

Perfect Image?

1989 · ★ 9

Two actresses take us through a series of 'raps' and sketches about what it means to be beautiful and black.

Crowned Species

2013 · ★ 4

A journalistic investigation, built not on rumors and assumptions, but on direct evidence, revealing the true mechanisms of podium coronations. Hidden camera footage of negotiations with the owners of the largest national beauty contests and an attempt to answer the question of why these people are not yet in prison. Famous people on the jury are not a guarantee of fair judging. Irrefutable evidence of the corruption of the so-called “stars” who elect the next Miss and Mrs. The collection and subsequent theft of funds for charity is a side business of the owners of fraudulent shows. What actually awaits the titled Misses after purchasing the prize? And what do children's beauty pageants turn out to be like for young participants?

My Personal Funhouse Mirror

2023

A look at past diary entries reveals a teenage girl's struggles with body image and depression

Miss Italia Mustn't Die

2025 · ★ 6.7

Behind the glitz of Miss Italia, director Patrizia Mirigliani fights to save the iconic pageant, now wavering amid scandals and changing beauty standards.

No Lye: An American Beauty Story

2019

A documentary that chronicles the rise and decline of the black-owned ethnic beauty industry in America.

The Butch Factor

2009 · ★ 4.6

What does mean to be gay and be a man? There's no straight answer for sure. From the Castro culture of the 1970s to today’s Bears and gym rats, this fascinating investigation of gay men and sexuality blows the lid off old stereotypes and showcases a battalion of interviewees including muscle men, rodeo riders, rugby players and cops. The men speak candidly on topics from homophobia to metrosexuality to embracing effeminacy as they reveal what it means to be a gay man in America today.

Naked on the Inside

2008 · ★ 2

Six extra-ordinary people from around the world reveal their bodies and share their secrets in a unique experiment in search of their inner selves.

Body Image

1992

A short, 'intimate' documentary that attempts to investigate the inner sensualities that make all our bodies beautiful. It investigates our physicality as human beings, how we use our bodies and how conscious we are of the potentials of the flesh.

Made Over in America

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.

Unfiltered

2026

Jacquelyn, used to presenting a carefully-edited version of herself online, commits to a 15-day challenge of posting unfiltered images. Unfiltered follows her journey of self-discovery as she explores what lies beneath her emotional reliance on a curated identity.

The Penis Extension Clinic

2016

Penis extension surgery is a booming business in the UK and we have exclusive access to a clinic that promises to make your manhood wider and longer for £7,000. Truck driver Leon is about to go under the knife for a second time to get an even bigger penis, something his girlfriend says is unnecessary. We also meet Michael who thinks he would have had more successful relationships if he’d been more confident about his body, that’s why he’s about to put himself through penis extension surgery at the ripe old age of 64.