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Unspooled and Unseen: 5 Documentaries That Actually Get EDS

By Antonia at Unremarkable Me

Let’s start with the truth behind the bend: Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) isn’t just a medical label. It’s a shapeshifter. It’s your body playing uno reverse on stability. It’s the “but you look fine” as your hip casually moonwalks out of its socket.

EDS is messy. It’s misunderstood. And it’s invisible—until it’s not.

So what do you do when the world doesn’t seem to get it? When doctors shrug, friends fade, and you feel like the only one stuck on the world’s worst rollercoaster without a seatbelt? Sometimes, you need to see yourself through someone else’s lens—preferably in HD with a good soundtrack.

Here are five documentaries that don’t just talk about EDS—they show it. With heart. With humour. And with the kind of gut-punch honesty that leaves you feeling just a little more seen.


🎥 1. We Are Visible (2019)

Directed by: Karina SturmAvailable on: YouTube – Watch Here Running time: Approx. 50 minutesMore Info: EDS Society Article

A globe-trotting, soul-baring gem that follows real people living with EDS and other invisible conditions across the UK, Germany, and beyond. Created by Karina Sturm, who has EDS herself, it’s full of familiar frustrations and quiet triumphs.

This is the film you send your family when they say, “But isn’t that just being bendy?” No. No, it is not.


🎥 2. Issues With My Tissues (2015)

Directed by: Vicky SmithFeaturing: Lara BloomAvailable on: YouTube – Watch Here Running time: Approx. 28 minutes

Lara Bloom walks the London Marathon while literally holding herself together with tape and sheer force of will. This is advocacy in motion—sometimes slow, sometimes sideways, but always powerful.

Bonus: the title alone deserves merch.


🎥 3. Complicated (2025)

Directed by: Andrew Abrahams Screened at: Slamdance Film Festival Trailer: Watch Here More Info: Open Eye Pictures Further Reading: MUSC News Center

This one hits hard. Complicated follows families falsely accused of Munchausen by Proxy—just for trying to get their kids treatment. It’s harrowing, necessary, and painfully timely.

It features Dr. Sunil Patel and has screened in the U.S., but UK viewings are in the works. Want to host one? Email: mail@openeyepix.org


🎥 4. Bend or Break

Directed by: Mitch MartowAvailable on: YouTube – Watch Here Running time: Approx. 40 minutes

Equal parts autobiography and emotional time capsule, this film follows Mitch Martow’s journey through a childhood with undiagnosed EDS. It’s real, it’s raw, and you’ll want to hug your inner child afterward.

There’s something incredibly powerful about hearing your own story from someone else’s mouth.


🎥 5. Exhausted Existence – An EDS Story (Coming Soon)

Directed by: TBD From: Chronic Pain Partners More Info: Chronic Pain Partners Site

Still in development, this upcoming documentary focuses on what daily life actually feels like: the fatigue, the frustration, the tiny moments of joy. It’s a love letter to those of us just trying to exist in a body that thinks it's auditioning for Final Destination every Tuesday.

Keep this one on your radar. And maybe get it in schools while we’re at it.


Final Thoughts

These films aren’t just entertainment—they’re evidence. Evidence that we’re here. That we matter. That the pain, the perseverance, the unspoken grief and unexpected laughs are all real.

If you’ve ever wanted to feel less alone in your bendy, breaky body—or help someone else finally understand it—these stories are your lifeline.

So go ahead: make a cuppa, curl up with your favourite heat pad, and let someone else do the talking for a while.

Because being Unremarkable Me? It means being seen—without needing to explain yourself first.


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