All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival 2009

At age 28, Diane Israel stepped down from m her career as one of the world’s top women triathletes. Competing since she was 14, her body finally collapsed from fatigue and anorexia under the extreme physical pressures required of today’s professional athletes. Though sports had been her life, Diane switched gears, went back and became a psychotherapist. In her new role, Diane heard a multitude of stories from patients, each more shocking than the last, of the lengths they would go to in order to achieve the ‘perfect’ body. To understand their heartfelt desire for physical perfection at any cost, Diane set out to explore their actions in the broader context of the culture and business of Beauty in America. What she discovers over the course of her journey will hit frighteningly close to home, revealing Diane’s own deeply moving story of family secrets, self-doubt and personal abuse. BEAUTY MARK presents an alarming, infuriating, and at times, humorous look at the myriad forces that shape our perceptions of beauty. The film follows Diane as she speaks with champion athletes, body builders, fashion models, burn survivors and inner-city teens on their experiences and insights relating to self-image. Notable luminaries such as playwright Eve Ensler, author Paul Campos and cultural critic Naomi Wolf provide commentary. Woven throughout is Diane’s relationship with her family, for whom maintaining the façade of a picture-perfect household meant everything. When Diane’s family reunites at her recently paralyzed mother’s home, their poignant gathering is the final key to Diane’s inspirational and extraordinary transformation.