2020 - And She Rose - BFTV DOCUMENTARIES

An intimate character piece that revisits two young women’s past with eating disorders and the journey they have taken toward loving themselves—helping other women heal along the way.

Canada | 6 min | 2021 | English
Instagram | Contact

On the left, there is a montage that consists of an extreme close up of half of Gabby's face. On the right of that, we see Mik's hands making the shape of a heart, in front of a mirror. Below that, there is a photo of Mik, looking of her shoulder at the camera. She both holding flowers and wearing some in her hair. To the left of that photo, and directly under the first photo of Gabby, there is another photo of Mik, a close up on her back. She is only in her underwear, and can be seen hugging herself, white flowers in her hands. Next to the montage is text that reads: Synopsis And She Rose is a short documentary that aims to address the potentially toxic and unhealthy side of a fitness journey, reveal that social media is oftentimes a very curated highlight reel of someone's life, and prove that when women support other women, magic can happen. There is a black line beneath this short paragraph along with flowers making a small border around the left bottom corner.

Meet Mik Zazon & Gabby Male

Mik (top photo) and Gabby (bottom photo) are two online influencers who have both garnered quite the following on social media, first starting as fitness and dieting advocates. As they shifted into a self-love journey, their content changed in hopes that they could urge others to love themselves as well—belly, acne, cellulite, and all. However, they didn’t stop there. Inspired, they started The Rose Retreat—a four-day event where, in their own words, they wanted to “help women find confidence in their own skin” and “create an environment” for others, that they “so desperately needed in [their own] journey to healing.”

"It's like we're living in a marathon being told there is a finish line just up ahead after losing weight; but once we get there, they tell us to run in a different direction. And it never stops. Because there is no finish line up ahead. The finish line is your body right now, this very second, however it chooses to show up." - Mik Zazon

"This world is crazy, unpredictable, and it can be scary to sit in the unknown. It can be scary to release that control and allow life to be a question mark, rather than an exclamation point all the time. But I promise you, the less desire you have to be in control of everything 24/7, the more freedom you’ll have to experience, to grow." - Gabby Male

Three seperate pictures. From top to bottom: Mik Zazon is sitting in a green chair, with her legs up in the air and huge smile on her face. She is wearing a sunflower in her hair. In the second photo, Gabby and Mik are wearing dresses, and cheering two glasses of wine. They are looking toward each other, laughing. In the last photo, Gabby is standing outside of a hotel, laughing away from the camera.

We are raising money for the National Eating Disorder Information Centre!

Donate Here

Meet The Crew

Carly Krieg stands in front of tree looking towards her left side, with a smile on her face. She is holding a rose.

Carly Krieg
Writer, Director, Producer, Transmedia

Carly is currently in her fourth year at Sheridan College--having spent a year obtaining her certificate for Media Fundamentals before getting accepted into their Film and Television program. Now, in third year, she has discovered just how passionate she is about writing, directing and producing, and one day hopes to become a Showrunner for an original series.

Anna Vagbova stands outside, smiling at the camera with a rose in her hand.

Anna Vagabova
Production Assistant

Anna is a third year Film and Television student at Sheridan College, who has been extremely focused on directing, cinematography and casting. She also has prior background experience in singing, dancing and acting, and is a very passionate Ukrainian-Canadian filmmaker, who enjoys helping out on set in any way that she can.

Carlos Joricho rests his face against his hand, while holding a rose. He is looking at the camera.

Carlos Jochico
Picture Editor

Carlos, who is in his third year at Sheridan College, discovered his love of editing and post production during his time in their Film and Television program. He started at Sheridan thinking he would become a cinematographer but later found out that post is where he was meant to be. He hopes that his passion for editing will lead him toward commercial filmmaking.

John Dela Cruz sits in a harsh, red, lighting. He is looking at the camera and smiling, holding a rose.

John Dela Cruz
Sound Editor

John is a multitalented student filmmaker in his third year of the Film and Television program at Sheridan College.
His main focus in the film industry is to be a sound effects editor as well as a Foley artist and would also love to partake in on set sound as a boom operator and recordist.

Deedee Talusan is winking playfully at the camera, with a rose in their hands.

Deedee Talusan
Assistant Sound Editor

Deedee is an aspiring filmmaker who hopes to connect with people through the art of storytelling. They are a second year film student at Sheridan College, and are specializing in sound design and post-production graphics. In the future, they hope to take part in films that will change the way a person views the world.

Brianna Delvecchio is laying down, with flowers scattered along her spread out hair. She is smiling at the camera, while holding a bouquet of roses.

Brianna Delvecchio
Assistant Transmedia

Brianna is an aspiring writer and creator that has a deep love for movies and TV within the industry. She loves to utilize her creative mind to find ways to tell stories in authentic and captivating ways. Her passion drives her to build towards her dream of publishing a book and in the future producing and becoming a Showrunner for a TV show to bring her fictional worlds to life.

Normalize Normal Bodies

Normalize Normal Bodies is hashtag that Mik Zazon created, that eventually became its own movement--inspiring so many people to share their experiences with mental health and body image.

In Mik's own words, "everything I believed in before entering eating disorder recovery was a scam. A lie. And I was angry. Angry that I tried forcing my body to be something it didn't want to be [...] My body was NORMAL all along. If you search the hashtag, you'll see women all over the world normalizing their body in a society that says we aren't allowed to show up as we are. Each post was a picket sign, and together, we are an army of women fighting to show ourselves [and all generations of women] what normal bodies look like and that "healthy" looks different on everyone."

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Three pictures. On the left and right side, there is a drawing of a pink rose, with green leaves. In the centre there is a collage of polaroid photos making the shape of a heart. The polarioids show a variety of different women--some being past retreat attendees, and others being women who submitted self love selfies.

Want To Know More About The Rose Retreat?

Instagram | Website

"If addressing inclusion isn’t the foundation of the Rose Retreat… we can not truly call ourselves inclusive. It has to be the basis of everything we do, so we have created an incredibly special team of people to help us do just that!"

The Rose Retreat Advisory Team

CHRISSY KING

"I think an open and pure heart is one of our greatest gifts and sources of healing. In a world filled with so much hurt and pain, what would it look like to be a reflection of perfect, unadulterated, love?"

JENNY JAY

"Your existence is powerful. You have the ability to inspire the energies around you. You, surviving, in the midst of everything in this world, is a feat in and of itself. Your breath is your life force and right now you have an incredible force running through your veins."

LINDSAY TOMPKINS

"When I am loving others, I spend less time hating myself. ⁣When I am focused on life, I focus less on my weight. ⁣Our society and culture want us to stay distracted, stay in a state of self-hate, and stay quiet. ⁣They want us to take up less space. ⁣That is done now.”⁣

Two pictures. On the left is a close up of a single yellow rose. On the right is Alysee Dalessandro Santiago, standing in front of a bright yellow wall and wearing a green and white crop, tied in a knot at her belly button, green pants, and white vintage styled sunglasses. She is peaking out from her sunglasses and smiling directly at the camera.

ALYSSE DALESSANDRO SANTIAGO

“‘There is no dollar amount that could ever compare to the joy of hearing from someone that they felt seen or valued because they saw me wearing something they thought they couldn’t or doing something they were told they couldn’t do."

Meet Mik Zazon & Gabby Male

We are raising money for the National Eating Disorder Information Centre!

Meet The Crew

Carly KriegWriter, Director, Producer, Transmedia

Anna VagabovaProduction Assistant

Carlos JochicoPicture Editor

John Dela CruzSound Editor

Deedee TalusanAssistant Sound Editor

Brianna DelvecchioAssistant Transmedia