Director Bags Awards for Short Film Tackling Period Stigma

Director Giulia Gandini is using her voice in film to fight period shaming and dispel stigmas against menstruation – and has won multiple awards for her talent in reflecting the reality of young women’s lives.

The London-based director was inspired to work on her short film, entitled “My Time”, based on a school memory where her friend had a period stain on her clothes and got bullied for it.

“Films don’t only reflect culture but they have the power to shape it,” says Gandini, adding that her film is deliberately set in the UK because the subject there is still considered taboo. According to the ActionAid charity, one in three British women say they have been bullied, isolated or laughed at over their “time of month”.

The director says that the film represents what she saw at school in a more positive light, delivering a clear feminist message about “being proud of who you are”.