WOMENstruate (2019)
Directed by Lauren Anders Brown, 52 minutes
Sunday 18 October 19:00 BST plus panel discussion
At any given time, 800 million people across the world are menstruating. It should be just another facet of daily life, yet for many women menstruation comes with a great stigma and taboo.
WOMENstruate gives an unflinching vignette into the lives of seven women from across Africa and their experiences with menstruation, without shying away from the taboo.
Cyclones in Mozambique, homelessness in South Africa, HIV positivity in Eswatini, and refugee camps in South Sudan are just some of the stories told by these women and girls. The women may be of different generations and live in different countries, but the message given by all is the same: menstruation is normal.
When director Lauren Anders Brown set out to film WOMENstruate, she planned to do it in 4-7 days, the average length of a woman’s period, as an ode to what a woman can achieve with the right resources and support. It was filmed in 6 days.
The excellent panel discussion after the screening was moderated by Naana Otoo-Oyortey MBE, Executive Director of FORWARD (Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development) the leading African women-led organisation working to end violence against women and girls. Naana was joined by WOMENstruate director, Lauren Anders Brown, Matt Jackson, UK Director of UNFPA, and Lineo Matsela, obstetrician and gynaecologist, South Africa.
Here's the replay:
WOMENstruate first featured at the 2019 Global Health Film Festival
A limited number of tickets are available: book now to join us on Sunday 18 October; we will close registration at 5pm on Sunday 18 October and will send you a link to the event by 6pm, an hour before the screening starts.
Registration is free of charge; each screening costs just under £1,000 for us to organise. We are grateful for any donation you are able to make to help cover our costs; you can make a donation securely using this link.
Thank you for your support!
WOMENstruate: additional resources