A short film about menstruation, titled Period. End of Sentence just won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short, and the acceptance speech was everything we could've asked for and more.
Directed by Rayka Zehtabchi, a 25-year-old Iranian-American woman, the Netflix film tackles the stigma of periods in rural India. The 26-minute documentary looks at an inspiring group of women who create a machine that makes low-cost sanitary pads, giving them financial independence while also improving feminine hygiene in their village.
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The film came about when Melissa Burton, a teacher in Los Angeles, brought students to Kathikhera, India to set up the pad-making machine that is featured in the film, in 2012.
The synopsis reads: "In a village outside Delhi, India, women lead a revolution. For generations, these women didn't have access to pads.
"But when a sanitary pad machine is installed in the village, they learn to manufacture their own pads. Their flight is partly enabled by high-school girls in California, who raised the initial money for the machine and created a non-profit called 'The Pad Project'."
Accepting the award, while fighting back tears, Zehtabchi said: "To the women of Zehtabch, know that you are empowering women all over the world to fight for menstrual equality."
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Melissa ended the heartfelt speech with the powerful message: "A period should end a sentence, not a girl's education."
Period. End of Sentence is available to stream on Netflix now.
Topics: TV News, TV Entertainment, Oscars