Released on Netflix as a short documentary, Period. End of Sentence. is a film that focuses solely on the struggles Indian women face regarding something as natural as menstruation. This film has been directed by Rayka Zehtabchi and is up for an Academy Award in the category of Best Documentary Short Subject.
The film begins with the crew of the film gathering a few people from the rural parts of India and asking them what menstruation is. No one had even heard of the word. They then go on to ask what they think ‘Period’ is, to which most of them end up laughing. They get shy and prefer not to answer such a question. Most boys think it’s an illness that mostly happens to females. All of this is a reality to the uneducated part of the Earth. It is shocking to see what many people believe the truth is. The women themselves believe that it is something that helps them get pregnant but for the most part they have no idea why they bleed.
The documentary shifts focus to one particular girl who aspires to be a police officer someday. She wishes to go against the societal norms of settling down for marriage and wants to serve the country in her own way while also educating the women around her to be independent. She takes up the task to show them the healthy way of living when that time of the month arrives. The rural women use dirty cloths in order to not make a mess but it is the worst option. It invites innumerable diseases and infections that may never be cured. Hence, she begins her own factory in the village of handmade sanitary pads. This factory employs all the women in the village to come together and start their own business while also promoting a healthier and cleaner option of going through something as natural as a period.
It is a lovely 25 minute watch. It gives you a much deeper insight in the life of people around the globe and how brave they have are to battle something as cruel as patriarchal control.
The cinematography is brilliant. Led by Sam Davis, it is one of the most crisp editing that I have witnessed in a while. The background music matches perfectly and in such a way that you wouldn’t pity the women on screen, you would just wish more power to them and their goals.
I would rate the film 4 chirps and I hope with all my heart that it bags up an Academy Award like it deserves to! Here’s wishing an all the best to the team of Period. End of Sentence. From The Red Sparrow.
