姐妹 sisters

The film Sisters was born from the true experiences of Ying Wang and her younger sister Jie.

Born at the tail of the Cultural Revolution, Ying and Jie belong to the generation who matured during China’s drastic modern transformation. Like many who lived through the 1989 Tiananmen Movement, they came to the West out of a longing for freedom and a better world. But the dream soon collided with reality: in the 1990s, after immigrating to the United States, Jie developed a severe eating disorder. Her long struggle with this “Western” illness at the time brought deep turmoil to the family.

In 2001, after five years of battling the disorder alone, Jie drove across North America and moved into Ying’s small apartment in Vancouver. Lacking medical insurance, she could not access proper treatment. For Ying, living side by side with her sister’s illness was both shocking and transformative, sparking a lifelong obsession with issues of mental illness and the inquiry into what self-autonomy means in contemporary society.

In 2002, the sisters began co-writing the screenplay for Sisters. With the help of friends and their modest savings, they completed the film between 2004 and 2005. Jie portrayed Ping, a fictionalized version of herself. Acting became a liberating act—her first real chance to speak her truth. The film marked the beginning of her slow but steady recovery.

On May 3, 2005, during National Mental Health Week, Sisters premiered at The Cinémathèque in Vancouver. Jie bravely shared her story with a packed audience. For Ying, Jie’s recovery was such an empowering result of the film, affirming her belief in the power of art to transcend and transform us as individuals and as a society.

Following the release of the film, the sisters showed it in communities and volunteered with mental health organizations. Jie went on to graduate in New Media Design & Web Development from BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) and now works as a web designer in Seattle. Ying has continued her pursuit as a self-taught filmmaker and artist.

In the film, the older sister Ming runs into a poster for a support group for eating disorders and urges Ping to seek help from them. However, the group turns out to be a pro-anorexia cult. Calling themselves Anorexia Beauty, they pray to a skeleton girl named Bristol for courage and strength. 

This plot device was inspired by pro-eating disorder websites.

While conducting research about eating disorders, I encountered many online communities that openly promoted anorexia and bulimia – not as illnesses, but as chosen lifestyles. They glorified starvation, circulating “thinspiration” images of fragile models and actresses. Some sites even featured anorexia prayers and rituals of sacrifice.

The existence of the pro-eating disorder websites brought me an eye-opening understanding of the modern phenomenon of this mental illness; from that came the idea of a pseudo-religious cult in the film—one that finally pushes Ping to the brink of death.

The cult’s worship of the Bristol Girl draws from Joan Jacobs Brumberg’s groundbreaking study Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa. In her book, Brumberg recounts the 1895 Lancet report of a sixteen-year-old Bristol schoolgirl who died weighing only 49 pounds—the first recorded death of modern anorexia in English-language medicine. Bringing her into the film helped the modern tale of this film find a way to connect with the history. 

My feelings toward pro-ED websites and the young women behind them remain ambivalent. Eating disorders are fatal illnesses. Having witnessed the extreme pain my sister went through and the damage it has caused to her body and life, I am strongly against these sites affirming eating disorders as an acceptable lifestyle. There is no question that these sites have the potential to be harmful to many vulnerable young people. 

And yet, eating disorders are secretive, isolating diseases. Those who suffer are often consumed by shame and loneliness. For many, the illness itself becomes a companion. In the film, Ping cries out: “I have nothing but anorexia left. All these years, it’s been the only thing that gives me security. It’s like my companion. Without it, I wouldn’t know how to go on living.” This line comes directly from my sister Jie, who often spoke these words during her darkest moments. For some, pro-ED websites are the only spaces where they can find acceptance, compassion, and a sense of belonging. Who among us doesn’t need that?

While I fully oppose the philosophy of this so-called “pro-eating disorder movement”, I do not believe the young women who created these sites should be condemned. As one girl asked online: “Isn’t our culture pro-anorexia?”

Writer Thomas S. Roche captures this tension in his essay Pro-Anorexia Websites:“ In a culture where most women—and many men—are at some point grudgingly shamed into dieting, anorexia is terrifying to most of us and threatening to the status quo. But the celebration of anorexia is hazardous not because it encourages risky behaviours, but because, if you look closely enough, you can recognize those behaviours in the everyday lives of average people. Pro-ana websites are not just hazardous to your health—they’re hazardous to a worldview that quietly celebrates eating disorders in its own way.”

This is the exact point our film reflects on.

Ying Wang ( 2005 ) 

Two decades have passed since we released Sisters. Back then, it was the first film on this topic made by ethnic Chinese filmmakers. Watching it now, I’m proud of Jie’s courage and honesty. 

The film is raw, provocative, and bold. It seeks to go beyond the visible suffering, probing the deeper,universal causes of mental illness: the invisible forces of suppression of modern society, the loneliness and vulnerability of the human soul, and the restless craving for acceptance and belonging. With the little money we could put together and zero filmmaking experience back then, I’m proud of what we achieved. 

Today, the film feels more relevant now than ever. Eating disorders are no longer a Western phenomenon. Over the years, we’ve received increasing inquiries about the film. This is why we plan to re-release it –  hoping it can reach and connect with those who suffer in silence, who struggle with loneliness, and who long for a sense of companionship. 

Ying Wang (2025)