Short film on taboos around menstruation wins Oscar

'Period. End of Sentence' picked up an award in the Documentary Short Subject category

Indian film Period. End of Sentence, which is set on the taboos around menstruation, picked up an Oscar in the Documentary Short Subject category at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony, reported Business Standard.

The film, backed by Indian producer Guneet Monga's Sikhya Entertainment, is about women in India fighting against the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation and delving upon the work of real life 'Pad Man' Arunachalam Muruganathan.

PHOTO: YOUTUBE

Directed by award-winning Iranian-American film-maker Rayka Zehtabchi, the film is created by The Pad Project, an organisation established by an inspired group of students at the Oakwood School in Los Angeles and their teacher, Melissa Berton.

The 26-minute short film follows girls and women in Hapur, northern India, and their experience with the installation of a pad machine in their village. It was pitted against Black Sheep, End Game, Lifeboat and A Night At The Garden.

"I can't believe a film about menstruation just won an Oscar," Zehtabchi said as she got up on the stage to accept the honour. "I'm not crying because I'm on my period or anything."

PHOTO: FILE

A Netflix documentary, Period... is executive produced by Guneet Monga and is co-produced by Monga's Sikhya Entertainment, which has backed films like The Lunchbox and Masaan.

Thrilled after the win, Monga tweeted, "We won! To every girl on this earth... know that you are a goddess... if heavens are listening... look MA we put @sikhya on the map."

WE WON!!! To every girl on this earth... know that you are a goddess... if heavens are listening... look MA we put @sikhya on the map ❤️

— Guneet Monga Kapoor (@guneetm) February 25, 2019

Berton dedicated the award to her school, saying "the project was born because her students in LA and people in India wanted to make a human rights difference".

"I share this award with the Feminist Majority Foundation, the entire team and cast. I share this with the teachers and students around the worlds - a period should end a sentence, not a girl's education," she said.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.