This piece was written by Sir Simon Milligan

Films can be a very personal experience. Though many whisk us away with fantastical stories, others portray much more “down to earth” struggles often inspired by true events or the filmmaker’s own history (as the saying goes, “write what you know”). There are many ways for us to relate to a film: sometimes the story just happens to take place in your hometown, state, or country. Maybe one of the characters is essentially a carbon copy of your own personality. Perhaps a character is going through a situation you’ve experienced yourself.

One film that really hit home for me was 2013’s Fat. The film stars Mel Rodriguez as a man struggling with his weight, which affects every aspect of his life and endangers his health. As someone who has weighed on the heavier side most of my adult life, I definitely felt seen. Coincidentally, at the time I first saw this I’d just gone through the most successful weight loss in my life (losing 70 pounds in four months), and I was never as heavy as Rodriguez’s character in the film, but I could still relate. Adding to the film’s personal connection, I saw it at TIFF that year and was lucky enough to meet Rodriguez and the film’s director Mark Phinney after the screening to share with them how important the film was for me. The film is a bit difficult to track down (I think it’s on Tubi?) but is worth the effort.

Prompt: What film(s) do you personally relate to?