The fat women and queers in Riot Not Diet are not ashamed of their expansive body dimensions, but use their bodies to blow up patriarchal structures.

Interview with Director Julia Fuhrmann

Watch Riot Not Diet here:

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I wanted to create a feminist utopia I dream of. Lots of documentaries deal with problems and show how people suffer, but I think it's even more important to create new ideas of how we wanna live - especially new corporealities.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

You should watch RIOT NOT DIET, as it shows extraordinary images of fat female bodies. It gives you a lovely and powerful feeling about your own body and makes you wanna have a riot girl gang!

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

All my films deal with the connection between bodies and society - in this case, the issue of having a fat female or queer body is not only private but very political. It's all about taking up space with your body. The protagonists in RIOT NOT DIET are not ashamed of their expansive body dimensions, but confidently claim space for themselves. They use their bodies to blow up patriarchal structures.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

Our film continues the tradition of the New Queer Cinema, as the film deals with dissolving traditional gender identities and notions of desire – not only by presenting characters who oppose the heteronormative, binary discourse of power, but also in terms of the filmmaking process itself: Instead of believing in hierarchy and the concept of a single genius, the vision of every individual participant from behind and in front of the camera was taken into account in order to create this multi-layered, atmospherically dense utopia

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Very different - some people are bored and don't know at all what the film is about. Queer audiences love it and can't get enough of this film. Some people are confused – which I like most.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

The feedback so far was what we expected.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

So far we toured a lot through European Film Festivals - but as the body positivity movement and the queer scene is very big and amazing in the US and Canada as well, we'd love to have our film screened or distributed there as well.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

The film is finished and produced by a small German production company in cooperation with my film school in Munich. Now we are looking for sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors and journalists in the US and Canada.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

RIOT NOT DIET was made to inspire and empower a queer-feminist audience. To confuse everybody's notions of women's bodies. To create a new way of making films without hierarchies on the film set.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

How can we create complex utopian films - in how the films are made and in what they are talking about?!

Would you like to add anything else?

Queer feminist love from Munich, Germany to all our queer allies in the world.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Currently, director Julia Fuhr Mann is developing her graduation film – a utopian essay film revolving around the dissolution of gender stereotypes in competitive sports.

Interview: April 2019

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

RIOT NOT DIET

The fat women and queers in Riot Not Diet are not ashamed of their expansive body dimensions, but use their bodies to blow up patriarchal structures.

Length: 16:50

Director: Julia Fuhr Mann

Producer: Andreas Günther

Writer: Julia Fuhr Mann, Anna Christ

About the writer, director and producer:

JULIA FUHR MANN is a filmmaker, curator and queer-feminist activist. After studying philosophy, literature and sociology, since 2013 studies in film directing at the University of TV and Film Munich. As a member of Pro Quote Film she stands up for gender equality in film business, she is a curator for the feminist film festival Bimovie and works for the video editorial of SÜDDEUTSCHE Zeitung. www.juliafuhrmann.com

Key cast: Sara Ablinger, Magda Albrecht, Brandy Butler, Christine Fiedler, Kristina Kuličová, Marzen Lizurej, Veronika Merklein, Zdrada Pałki, Flora Schanda, Julischka Stengele, JJ Thunderkhat, Hengameh Yaghoobifarah

Looking for: sales agents, distributors, journalists, film festival directors

Facebook: RIOT NOT DIET

Instagram: @riotnotdietfilm

Hashtags used: #queerfilm #riotnotdiet #juliafuhrmann

Website: juliafuhrmann.com

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival / Innis Town Hall Toronto – 26.04.2019, 5.30 pm; Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival / Scotia 8 Toronto – 27.04.2019, 1.15 pm