A FILM based on young women in an Indian village fighting the stigma associated with menstruation won an Oscar last night (24) for best documentary short.
Period. End of Sentence. narrates the story of women leading a revolution against the taboo surrounding menstruation. The 26-minute film follows girls and women in a village in Uttar Pradesh as they install a pad machine in their village to manufacture sanitary pads. It captures the struggle of women in an Indian village they try to improve feminine hygiene.
"I can't believe a film about menstruation just won an Oscar!" Iranian-American filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi, director of Period. End of Sentence. said after winning the award.
It beat off other documentaries such as Black Sheep, End Game, Lifeboat and A Night at the Garden.
The film's producer, Guneet Monga, tweeted: "We won! To every girl on earth, know that you are a goddess."
She also She also thanked the academy for honouring the efforts of the team with the award.
"Thank you to the Academy for the highest honour and for recognising the efforts of the young girls from Oakwood School in Los Angeles to Kathikera in Uttar Pradesh in helping us shatter the glass ceiling," Monga said in a statement.
Period. End of Sentence. came about after a students' group in Los Angeles used crowdfunding to send a pad-making machine to a village in Uttar Pradesh.
“A bunch of students in Oakwood School, 12-14 year-old girls, had the idea of making this film. They did a crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter. One of their mothers, Stacey Sher, who is my mentor and has also produced some Tarantino movies, got in touch with me,” Guneet told News18.
Her production house Sikhya Entertainment, in association with Action India, a charity, facilitated the process of filming.
“When the film’s director, Rayka Zehtabchi, came to India, she had our production team and Action India to help her shoot,” she said.
In India, periods is a taboo subject and menstruating women are considered impure. They are often barred from entering places of religious importance.
Kulsuma Aktergetty images