SACCHARINE is the third film from Australian filmmaker Natalie Erika James (Relic, Apartment 7A), and is about Hana (Midori Francis), a first-year medical student who becomes fixated on losing weight after seeing the dramatic physical transformation of a friend taking a controversial new diet pill made from human ashes. Unable to afford the pills herself, Hana resorts to stealing bones from the cadaver she dissects in her anatomy class. As the weight falls away, she finds herself haunted by the restless ghost of the woman she is consuming. As the entity begins to overpower her, Hana must find a way to break free from it before losing control entirely.
After premiering at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, Saccharine is preparing to launch into Australian cinemas on July 9. Before the film’s release, Nick L’Barrow spoke with writer-director Natalie Erika James about exploring an eating disorder through a horror lens, and how filmmaking is a vessel to explore life’s big questions.
Nick: I have a niche obsession with title card drops – and I love the title card scene of Saccharine. How do you decide where you’re dropping the title, and how you’re going to do so?
Natalie Erika James: Yeah, that’s a really good question. I feel like for this one, because of the tone of the film edging into the absurd at some points – I mean, eating human ash to lose weight is inherently absurd. I really wanted to create a world of contrasts, and in a way, convey the beauty and the grotesque at the same time. So, with the title sequence, I definitely wanted something that felt kind of bold and that pulls you in. We have this dead body, and then this pop of pink colour to offset that and bring you into the world.
Nick: I love where Australian horror is right now, and how filmmakers are taking these very human and dramatic stories, and telling them in genre films. What was the entry point into the horror genre that you found to tell a story about eating disorders and identity?
NEJ: I think horror is most effective when it’s drawn from real emotional truth. When you’re crafting the rules and mythology of a world, I feel like it’s always stronger when you can point back to real lived experience. So, for this film, I was thinking about the experience of being in the grips of an eating disorder and how that can feel internally when something external is taking over. It’s like how this dark passenger can take control. And that was the starting point for having this ghost that is linked to Hana, being haunted by this sinister presence.
Nick: What was the process of creating the visual language of Hana’s eating disorder? It feels very confronting, but you also approach it with a lot of empathy.
NEJ: Yeah, 100%. I think because the film is told from such a subjective point of view with its visual and cinematic language, we really wanted to express the dopamine highs of that experience. One of the key montages in the film we called the ‘Dopamine Montage’ where we really leant into the sensuality and physical experience of having excess, and the highs that come with that. But then at the same time, building in the heaviness that is underneath that – the rot and the griminess. Our visual mantra was ‘candy and grime’. And those things came together in this slightly neo-noir tone in terms of lighting, and the full embrace of colour while still having darkness within the frame as well. And I think in terms of empathy, we really wanted to create something that really embraced the whole experience of having an eating disorder. But it’s a credit to Midori [Francis, Hana] that the audience goes along that ride with her, because she has this effortless authenticity to how she plays Hana. There’s such a vulnerability that she expresses.
Nick: I want to dive into Midori’s performance even more, but before we do – you mentioned the focus on the dopamine rush, and Hana is on Instagram a lot in this film. However, I noticed she uses a notepad and pen to track her weight loss! I’m curious to know what the creative decision behind that was?
NEJ: That’s a good question! No one has asked me that yet! I did a lot of research into medical students, and on Medical-Tok I found out that a lot of medical school is having to memorise so much stuff, and note taking is a huge thing. But, it’s also kind of a social hierarchy thing to write notes and exchange them in your inner circle. So, with Hana being a medical student, that was such a key part because writing is better for her memory as opposed to writing things down digitally. I think it was like an extension of that – someone who is obsessively having to write all day, every day for these exams also has this notebook of shame. It just felt more personal and organic to present it in that way.
Nick: That’s so fascinating! Going back to Midori – I can only assume that the character of Hana evolved from the page to what we see on screen when Midori came on board. What was she able to bring to Hana that built out the character from the page?
NEJ: To be honest, during the casting process, I had a pretty clear image of the Hana that I wanted. Often when I’m writing, I’m pulling from mood boards to have this real visual idea of the person and how they carry themselves. I had seen some of her work and I just thought that was the girl. I think in terms of how she developed Hana, a lot of it happened before we were on set. We really broke down the script and came up with this shared language for how to talk about what this character is going through. Then the costuming and make-up process gave us this chance to really latch on to the idea of who this young woman is. Someone who is hiding herself behind this fringe or the baggy clothes she wears at the start of the film. Also Midori brought this physicality to Hana that conveyed so many layers of self-consciousness.
Nick: Do you remember the first time you saw her in the prosthetics?
NEJ: Yeah! Credit to Larry [Van Duynhoven] from Scarecrow Studios who wanted to make sure that we nailed that and make it feel as natural and close to Midori as possible. The worst thing would be to make this film and have that feel like a punchline, as it so often has been in the past. But her walking on to the set when we did the camera test, she just snapped into character. Often actors might be more like themselves during those moments, but she was fully immersed. It was impressive to watch.
Nick: I read an interview where you stated that the reason you make films is because: “Filmmaking is the avenue to explore big questions you don’t have the answers to yet.” When did that notion first resonate with you, and what are the movies that have answered some of life’s big questions for you?
NEJ: Yeah, great question. I think it doesn’t always have to be deeply philosophical, sometimes it’s just about seeing things from a different perspective. It’s almost like bringing this ineffable experience of life and giving them physical form, you know what I mean? When I’ve never been able to describe that feeling – there it is on screen! As a very young filmmaker, Mulholland Drive captures so much, but are there even answers in that film! It’s just a film that makes lyrical sense to me. Trainspotting was another big one that spoke in the language of surrealism but feels so alive in its exploration of characters.And Requiem for a Dream was pretty big for me, which is heavy to watch now, but as teenager, for some reason you can deal with it a bit better!
Nick: I definitely drew parallels between Ellen Bursteyn’s character in Requiem for a Dream and things that happen in Saccharine.
NEJ: Yes! It must have left its mark!
Nick: You got to premiere your first film, Relic, at Sundance in 2020. And you had Saccharine premiere there this year. What were both of those experiences like for you?
NEJ: What was really interesting is that the Saccharine premiere was in the exact same cinema that we premiered Relic in! I remember turning to my crew and being like, “Is this cinema smaller now?” [laughs]. I mean, it’s always nerve wracking premiering your first film to an audience. But this time I was able to attach my sense of ‘okay-ness’ to the result of a screening. This time I knew walking into it that I could just enjoy the experience a little bit more, and celebrate with the cast and crew. Whereas last time, it felt like the weight of the world and expectations were on my shoulders. But this time, it was joyful.
Thank you so much to Natalie for her time, and to Maslow Entertainment and NixCo PR for organising the interview. Saccharine is in Australian cinemas on July 9.
SACCHARINE contains scenarios that may be distressing for people who live with or have experienced eating disorders and negative body image. If you are impacted by this material, please reach out for support at The Butterfly National Helpline which is contactable on 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or visit www.butterfly.org.au to chat online or email, 7 days a week, 8am-midnight (AEST/AEDT).
