Your Fat Friend: Documentary examines the way fat people are seen on screen - BBC News

A new documentary Your Fat Friend takes an unflinching look at societal perceptions of fat people.

3 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Siobhan McSweeney is best known for her role in Derry GirlsBy Sophie van BrugenEntertainment reporterWhy are fat characters so often the butt of the joke or the focus of pity? A new documentary raises questions about the lack of complex portrayals of plus-size people on screen.

Actress Siobhan McSweeney is best known as Derry Girls' imposing headmistress Sister Michael, a nun almost as large in stature as in character, and an imposing figure in both respects.

Two years ago, the actress starred in a very different role in ITV drama Holding. But the press were only interested in one thing.

"All they wanted to ask me about was the love scene and how brave I was doing it because of my body shape," she says.

Now McSweeney is lending her support to a new documentary looking to give fat people a fairer and more balanced portrayal in media, as well as society in general.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68227820?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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