The Indian-based documentary Period. End of Sentence, co-produced by Guneet Monga (Masaan, The Lunchbox, Gangs of Wasseypur), has created history by winning the Best Documentary Short Subject at the 91st Academy Awards. It was competing against other films like Black Sheep, End Game, Lifeboat and A Night at the Garden.
Directed by Iranian-American filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi, the film follows the women of Hapur district near Delhi fighting the stigma over menstruation by using a sanitary pad-making machine. The 25-minute documentary explores the shame attached to menstruation and dealing with menstrual hygiene effectively. A group of women is given a sanitary pad-making machine, invented by Arunachalam Muruganatham, the entrepreneur played by Akshay Kumar in PadMan. The women go from door to door, selling sanitary pads and creating awareness about menstrual hygiene.
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Guneet Monga[/caption]
Guneet, who runs the company Sikhya Entertainment, was elated upon winning the award. “To Every Girl On This Earth... Know That You Are A Goddess...” she tweeted. “WE WON!!!”
In a media interview before the Oscars, Guneet had said, “Landing an Oscar nomination isn’t easy. It’s not just about making a good film. The nominations are an organic process, but the short-listing depends on a number of factors, like how many awards has your film won in the past year, why it should be in the top 10. Once it’s in the top 10, then the documentary department at the Academy votes to select the top 5. Making your film visible in the festival circuit puts it on the map. The more press you generate and awards you win, the better it is for the film.”
