Lately there has been a lot of attention for the subject of menstruation + taboo. Period! brings you the best awareness actions. This week: film festivals.
1. Broad Humor film festival with ‘A Period Drama’
Broad Humor film festival is the only festival just for female-created comedies. All submitted films have to pass the so-called Bechdel test, which means they have to feature at least two female characters, with names, who share a scene in which they talk to each other about something other than men. (Believe it or not, but even nowadays many films still fail at this test). ‘A Period Drama’ is one of the 2015 finalists in the shorts section. No, this isn’t a period drama like Pride and Prejudice, where all the actors are dressed in costumes dating from the 19th century. This short movie is about the rough relationship between a woman and ‘Big Red’, her personified period. According to director and actress Kristine Gerolaga, although the comedy is filled with visual metaphors that compass all kind of women’s monthly experiences, it’s ultimately a film about what it truly means to menstruate. Watch the trailer.
2 The Unmentionables film festival with ‘Moon Inside You’
The Unmentionables is an annual film festival which focuses on a different taboo topic each year. The first edition of the festival, in June 2015, was about menstruation. Although having your period happens to about three billion women on this planet, it remains largely misunderstood and shrouded in shame. The organisers wanted to publicly celebrate and explore the amazing thing that’s menstruation. One of the films being showed at the Unmentionables film festival was ‘Moon Inside You’. This documentary explores the cultural stigmas and physical realities that shape how women and men experience menstruation. It’s directed by the Slovakian Diana Fabiánová, who has been suffering from painful periods for years. The question that arises with her every cycle, ‘Why the pain and annoyance if I’m healthy?’, sparks off an emotional journey to the roots of femininity and life. Watch the trailer.
3 Crankyfest with ‘The Beauty of Red’
Crankyfest is an online festival for short films about periods. Any genre is permitted at this festival, as long as the movie is about menstruation. ‘The Beauty Of Red’ was the winner of Crankyfest 2014. From the colour of cherries, balloons and other joyful things, after the first menstruation, red becomes the colour of shame. Indian script writer Vimida M. Das drew on personal experience to make this animated movie. ‘As I wrote out, I let the words flow; it was more of a poetry and less of a script… The video was turning out to be really moving. It had to do with the very essence of life,’ she says in a blog on Menstrupedia.com. Watch The Beauty of Red here.
eriod! is an independent, online magazine about all aspects of menstruation. Period! is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. If you’re suffering from medical complaints, always visit your doctor or GP. Editorial articles can contain affiliate links. Sponsored collaborations can be found in the category Spotlight. Do you have any questions? Check our contact page.
Read also:
Menstruation + taboo (2) protest songs, (3) sport, (4) social media actions
