rePRO PERIODICAL VOL. 04:  A PERIOD PIECE featuring Shuchi Talati, Director/Writer of 'A Period Piece'

This month we’re focusing on menstrual health and all things periods. Yes, the topic that literally billions of people around the world experience, yet is still heavily stigmatized in so many ways. From menstrual products being taxed as “luxury goods” in a number of countries, to the lack of access to period products, and women and girls being shunned from their communities and forced to stay in potentially dangerous spaces because menstruating is considered “dirty” or “unclean” by certain groups, it’s clear we have a long way to go to dismantle harmful cultural norms.   But one of the most exciting areas we are seeing change in, is film and media. From the 2018 Oscar-winning short documentary “Period. End of Sentence”, to more recently Pixar’s ‘Turning Red’ driving a tonne of conversations on social media about how periods are included in family films, this is what we need to see more of! No more silence!

We are speaking with an acclaimed filmmaker Shuchi Talati, whose short narrative film 'A Period Piece' is breaking silence and taboos in powerful and beautiful ways. Shuchi is originally from India and her work challenges dominant narratives around gender, sexuality, race and South Asian identity. Shuchi is also a writer / producer for documentaries. Recent credits include We Are: Brooklyn Saints for Netflix, and Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas for HBO, where one of Shuchi’s episodes was nominated for a GLAAD award.

Released in 2020, ‘A Period Piece’ follows main character Geetha, a control and order loving Indian-American woman who finally has sex with her lover Vehd one afternoon in her apartment, but things quickly turn messy when period blood stains her pristine couch and a fight erupts while they are having sex. The film has enjoyed nearly 2 years of a successful festival run, including being screened at our very own rePRO Film Fest, as well as SXSW in 2020. Dismantling stigma around menstruation starts with having open conversations and normalizing this very normal thing!

If you haven’t already, subscribe to our monthly newsletter where you will get each episode of the pod straight to your inbox. Learn more at reprofilm.org or at @reprofilm The rePROFilm Podcast is executive produced by mamafilm. Looking forward to bringing you our next conversation!