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In 2013, Swedish director Sanna Lenken created the dramatic short Eating Lunch, which was nominated for a Guldbagge Award and screened at Tribeca. It told the story of lunch time for a 15 year-old girl in an eating disorder clinic, who had 30 minutes to down a meal.

My Skinny Sister (2015), winner of the Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, is an elaboration on that subject, showing the dramatic effects of a teenager’s eating disorder on herself, her family, and especially her sister.

Sanna Lenken’s interest in anorexia and bulimia stem from her own childhood anorexia. Knowing that the subject of eating disorders, while ever relevant, can be difficult to tackle as drama for mainstream audiences, she drew on her own experience and angled the film towards the effects of the disease on others.

She told Independent Magazine, “I had an eating disorder myself as a teenager and when I got healthy as an adult I was thinking: why do so many women get this disease or have some sort of problem with their self-image? I started digging into this subject and I started writing a script with a sick person as the main character. But then I spoke to my little sister and asked her what she felt when I was sick. And she said she was so afraid that I would die. And I thought that was so terrible, the things I put her through, she was only 12 years old. And I decided to change the main character because this naive view that she had is more powerful and a bit more universal. It’s so strange, this sickness, but so many people have it. So I thought it was a good idea to have the younger sister as the main character because I could have some humor through her eyes.”

This point of view instills My Skinny Sister with a unique depth and emotional weight. Lenken worked on the film’s script for six years, endlessly drafting the story to ensure it was told the way she wanted. The intent was to humanize the main character in the most sensitive and realistic way. As the weight of the film is carried by her, and not the character with the eating disorder, the girl’s believability was paramount to the film’s success.

In casting the girls, Lenken went with two newbies to the film industry. Both received their first acting credit in My Skinny Sister, although one was far from an unknown personality. The titular “skinny sister” Katja is pop star and television presenter Amy Deasismont (Swedish stage name Amy Diamond), a very recognizable figure in the film’s home country of Sweden. While she hadn’t acted before, her existing celebrity almost cost her the part.

“At the beginning I said no. And my casting director told me she applied. And I kept saying no, I’m not interested,” Lenken said. “Because she’s all smiles and this part is so heavy, has so much angst, I don’t see her doing it. And my casting director was pushing me to try because she thought she had something. Then she sent me a casting tape and I go: ‘Is this the same girl?’ She was making a crazy scene, she was crying, I didn’t even recognize her. And then I chose her, she was totally the best.”

The other sister (a more full-figured, physically captivating Rebecka Josephson) was discovered by the same casting director just a month before production. They found the heartwarming and authentic girl who could offer both the strength and innocence required by the role.

“I was looking for a strong little woman,” Lenken said. “A strong girl with integrity. Even if she’s sometimes vulnerable, I felt she had to have a strong side to her. And I wanted her to look special so that I’m really drawn to her. I think Rebecca has almost like a painterly quality to her face, I was always thinking of certain artworks in association with her appearance, it’s so serene.”

Both girls, and Josephson in particular, have earned copious praise for their performances. The freshness and chemistry in the acting of the two youths indicate it will be truly interesting to follow their careers in the wake of My Skinny Sister.