Welcome back Tenties! This week, Sarah Johnston welcomes the fabulous Claire Ayoub, a filmmaker who's turning Hollywood's beauty standards on their heads. Claire's here to dish about her upcoming movie "Empire Waist" - think "Mean Girls" meets "Project Runway," but with way more body diversity and zero Regina Georges.

What you'll will hear about (Besides the Fact That BMI is BS):

• How Claire went from angsty teen playwright to body-positive film maker.
• How her work on “Gyno Kid” is a comical ode to her gynecologist parents.
• The wild ride of making "Empire Waist” and how it got to where it is today.
• Why seeing diverse bodies on screen is more important than your daily green juice.
• How to make a movie about body image without triggering half your audience.
• The time Claire's mom accidentally revolutionized sex ed (go Claire’s mom!).

To quote our new life coach, Claire: "If the diet industry worked, it would have put itself out of business."

Things that will make you LOL:

• Claire's brief, ill-fated acting career (turns out being typecast as "fat friend #3" isn't super fun).
• The saga of Claire's childhood Xanga blog (pray it never resurfaces).
• Sarah's brief dream of becoming a Rockette (spoiler: being 5'4" is not ideal).

What is next for Claire!?

• "Empire Waist" hits theaters Fall 2024!!
• An educational curriculum that might actually make health class bearable.

Follow Empirewaistfilm and Claire on Instagram for behind-the-scenes peeks, body-positive pep talks, and the occasional fashion emergency. And hey, while you're at it, maybe give your body a high-five

Thanks for listening! To follow along, please find me on instagram HERE, my personal website HERE, or my TikTik HERE.

Music for "Welcome to my Tent" by Rick Sniegowski
Graphics for "Welcome to my Tent" by Sam Sniegowski