Channel 4 Orders Doc on Women’s Breasts

Channel 4 has commissioned from Wall to Wall the one-off documentary Boobs, written and directed by Elizabeth Sankey (Romantic Comedy).

The doc delves into the relationship women have with their breasts through a series of interviews with everyday women. Reality star Megan Barton-Hanson, artist Sophie Tea and podcaster Jackie Adedeji are also featured in Boobs, which includes clips from classic films, covering everything from bras to Baywatch.

Boobs is slated to debut on Channel 4 on February 7.

Sankey said: “Making this film was such a joy. I loved going through hundreds of films and TV shows to find the most iconic, bizarre and bodacious breast moments ever committed to screen. While cutting these clips together, it quickly became clear that breasts are a very unique body part, obsessed over in Western culture, sexualized and twisted into an aspirational signifier of traditional young, white, beauty, while simultaneously acting as the most magical of food sources, providing nourishment for our children. While making this film, I met so many incredible women who moved and inspired me and also made me cry laughing (my crew included), and it was so refreshing to create a space where we could ditch the seedy stare of the male gaze to sit down with women and simply ask, ‘How do you feel about your breasts?’”

Shaminder Nahal, head of specialist factual at Channel 4, said: “I love the way this film intertwines women’s thoughts and feelings about their breasts with film and TV clips in such a funny, moving and clever way. I think it will make everyone who watches think a little differently about these endlessly fascinating body parts. It’s the latest of our specialist factual films investigating our bodies and ourselves after the groundbreaking 100 Vaginas, Bring Back the Bush and Me and My Penis.”

Lana Salah, executive producer, said: “This is a feminist film with a completely female cast and crew taking a look at how breasts are mostly portrayed through the male gaze—it’s one of the few opportunities to hear women talk about and celebrate their boobs and discuss how can we claim our breasts back.”