Honest and Emotional Documentary The Bond That Broke Screens at the New Jersey Film Festival!

by Penelope de la Cruz

originally published: 09/15/2026

Some of the most difficult things passed down through families are the ones rarely spoken about. In The Bond That Broke, director Jeff Mizushima explores this through mother and daughter Kathi Ross-Nash and Dr. Zoe Ross-Nash, whose lives have both been shaped by eating disorders in very different ways. Kathi struggled with bulimia for decades, while Zoe became a clinical psychologist largely because of what she learned about her mother’s experience with an eating disorder. Their stories make them feel like two sides of the same coin.

Today, both women have turned their experiences into careers focused on helping others. Kathi is a Pilates teacher and the creator of the Red Thread Method of Pilates, which uses movement to help people feel stronger and more connected to their bodies. Zoe is the founder and owner of Equilibrium Health Advantage, where she works as a clinical psychologist specializing in eating disorders.

Some of the most striking and emotionally charged sequences come from archival footage of Kathi dancing. After high school, she joined Ballet Hispánico of New York, and footage from this time plays as Kathi narrates what was actually happening behind the scenes. Watching her dance so gracefully while hearing about the eating disorder she was hiding creates a powerful contrast between how she appeared and what she was experiencing. She looks strong and confident onstage, while privately she was struggling with bulimia. The footage gives us a completely different understanding of a moment that otherwise looks beautiful.

The documentary also shows that Kathi’s experience is part of a much larger issue. Around nine percent of Americans experience an eating disorder. In Kathi and Zoe’s family, three members have also received eating disorder diagnoses. However, the film never becomes overly clinical. Through diary entries, personal memories, and Zoe’s professional perspective, we see how an eating disorder can affect not only the person experiencing it but also the relationships around them.

Zoe’s perspective is especially interesting because she is both Kathi’s daughter and a psychologist. She can speak about eating disorders from a professional perspective, but understanding her own mother’s experience is much more personal. Although Zoe already knows about Kathi’s history with bulimia, the documentary allows them to dive deeper into how those experiences shaped Kathi, Zoe, and their relationship with one another. These moments feel especially honest because Zoe does not suddenly have all the answers just because she is a psychologist. The film shows how different it is to understand an illness professionally compared to confronting its impact within your own family.

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Kathi and Zoe’s conversations are some of the most moving parts of the documentary because they allow both women to reflect on the same family history from different perspectives. One especially touching moment comes when Kathi recognizes what Zoe has done with that history. Zoe has dedicated her career to helping people experiencing the same illness Kathi struggled with for decades. There is something healing about watching Kathi realize that her daughter has taken something so painful and turned it into a way of helping others. Their conversations give the film a sense of closeness and show how openly discussing the past can foster deeper understanding between generations.

What makes The Bond That Broke work is how personal it remains while connecting Kathi and Zoe’s experiences to a larger issue. The film is honest and emotional, but there is also a lot of love between Kathi and Zoe as they reflect on what has shaped their family. The Bond That Broke reveals how eating disorders can affect multiple generations and how truly understanding those experiences can be healing.

The Bond That Broke screens at the New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, September 19, 2026 – Online for 24 Hours on this date! Get more info and buy tickets here.

The 45th Bi-annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place between September 4-October 4, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid as we will be presenting it online as well as doing select in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person shows when both are offered. We will also be offering an Audio-Visual Concert featuring Hanging Coats! The in-person screenings and the AV Concert will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$100; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Film Program.

For more info on the Film festival go here: https://newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2026.eventive.org/welcome