Filmmaker Statement

In 2015, in a small theater in New York’s fashion district, I produced and acted in a play called Stitches, written by Leah Franqui. The play told the story of a woman coming apart at the seams, and her sister, who was trying to hold it all together. It exposed the fine line between self-harm and self-help in a thoughtfully funny way, and the story stuck with me through the years. To turn the full-length play into a short, I pulled at the threads of the narrative until I found a core dynamic that felt personal and pressing. Today, the wellness economy is valued at over 5 trillion dollars. Biohacking is huge on TikTok, and health podcasts like the Huberman Lab have billions of subscribers. People are searching for answers about how to live a better life. And I am one of them. My experience with chronic illness has often pushed me to turn to DIY therapies for relief—to try the newest supplements and practices promising to fix my sleep, lessen my pain, improve my brain fog, and optimi