A documentary based in Uttar Pradesh on menstruation has won the Oscar for the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category at the 91st Academy Awards held in Los Angeles today.
Set in the Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh – Period. End of Sentence., is a 25-minute documentary directed by Rayka Zehtabchi, an Iranian-American director. It has been produced by Guneet Monga, an Indian producer and her Sikhya Entertainment. Crowd-funding came from students in Los Angeles and their teacher Melissa Berton.
Highlighting the taboo associated with menstruation, the documentary speaks of how sanitary and hygienic products are difficult to find in India, forcing many to drop out of school. In this backdrop, a vending machine is installed in Hapur where women take up the task of manufacturing and marketing sanitary napkins under the brand FLY. The documentary focuses on the need to disassociate taboo from menstruation so that it does not turn into a sentence which confines women on period hampering their liberty and education.
Receiving the Oscar, director Rayka Zehtabchi jested that she was ‘not crying’ as she was on her periods. Her emotional reaction could be attributed to the fact that “a film on menstruation had won an Oscar,” she said. The other films to have been nominated in the same category include Black Sheep, End Game, Lifeboat and A Night at the Garden.
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