The 2019 Academy Award-winning Netflix Documentary Short, Period. End of Sentence., aims to inspire people everywhere to think globally and recognize the impact young people can have. The film screened across the U.S. at film festivals in 2018 and premiered on Netflix in February 2019. It follows the women of Kathikhera, a village outside of New Delhi, India, as they install a machine and sell their pads throughout their district. Watch the film on Netflix! Watch the film on YouTube!

A REVOLUTIONARY MACHINE

In 2013, Melissa Berton took a group of her students to the Annual Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations. There they learned about the problem of period poverty and about Arunachalam Muruganantham, who invented a machine that manufactures sanitary pads out of natural, locally-sourced materials at a low cost—just 5 cents per unit.1 His work inspired them to help expand access to menstrual products and menstrual health management education worldwide and to make the documentary Period. End of Sentence.

FROM IDEAS TO ACTION

Oakwood high school students raised over $55,000 through fundraisers, bake sales, and two Kickstarter campaigns to purchase a sanitary pad machine for the village of Kathikhera outside of New Delhi, India. They partnered with director Rayka Zehtabchi and Action India, a grassroots women’s empowerment organization working in Kathikhera, to document the process in what would become Period. End of Sentence. The Pad Project team maintains a strong partnership with Action India and continues to work with them to install pad machines and spread menstrual health education in Kathikhera and villages throughout the district of Hapur. Today, the movement continues to expand as The Pad Project works to increase access to menstrual supplies and menstrual hygiene management education throughout the world.

ABOUT THE FILM

In a rural village outside Delhi, India, women lead a quiet revolution. They fight against the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation. Period. End of Sentence., a documentary short directed by Rayka Zehtabchi, tells their story. For generations, these women didn’t have access to pads, which led to health problems and girls missing school or dropping out entirely. But when a sanitary pad machine is installed in the village, the women learn to manufacture and market their own pads, empowering the women of their community. They name their brand, “FLY,” because they want women “to soar.”