Written on the Body

What could possibly motivate someone to alter or destroy their body? Told though subject portraits and expert interviews, 'Written on the Body' is a feature-length documentary film that explores the hidden epidemic of self-injury, which affects an estimated two million people in the United States alone. Male and female, young and old, rich and poor, famous and ordinary, 'cutters' harm themselves not as an act of suicide, but as a way to express their pain when words will not speak for them. Often obscured by superficial and sensationalized media coverage, the film breaks down the stereotypes and strips away the mysterious aura that surrounds this disturbing behavior. Far from glamorizing the subject, the film explicitly explores the dangers of self-injury, which can often consume an individual's life, taking a powerful, addictive-like hold over them. These stories of struggle and survival give voice to the extraordinary capacity of these individuals to confront and overcome their battles with self-injury while offering help and hope to those living with it.