WOMENstruate: Filming Period Poverty

Interview with Lauren Anders Brown

Disclaimer: These interviews were originally published in May 2021.

A woman sits against a dark background, wearing a loose gray shirt and blue jeans, with her arms crossed and a contemplative expression.

We sat down with Lauren Anders Brown, the filmmaker who directed ‘WOMENstruate‘, a documentary which follows seven women from across Africa and their experiences with menstruation.

Ricebox Studio: Tell us about how you created WOMENstruate.

Lauren Anders Brown: WOMENstruate began after a lunch in South Sudan along the Nile river sharing a cup of coffee with Dr. Julitta Onabanjowho had written an article on menstruation that resonated deeply with me. It made me question my own understanding of my menstruation, and if this was how silenced I felt about my menstruation at 33 years old what were other women and girls going through? Dr. Julitta is the Director of the Regional UNFPA office of East and Southern Africa, the hub of the menstrual health coalition. The team working with her, Puleng and Maja saw and understood my vision for WOMENstruate and were essential in gaining access and logistics to make most of the filming possible.

RS: Why did you choose filmmaking as your medium to actively challenge period poverty?

LAB: I’ve always been a filmmaker, and have spent more than half my life around cameras so it was a natural format for me. I wanted my audience to really know and understand where these women came from, the barriers they faced, the way they lived, and when no one else was in the room and it was just them and the camera what they felt about menstruation and what they wanted others to feel. Filmmaking has a way of making all this possible in an hour.

RS: Who are the most vulnerable when it comes to period poverty?

LAB: Women who have other human rights denied due to menstruation I feel are most vulnerable, and I think of Sunday the 17-year-old from South Sudan in a Protection of Civilians camp, which is a camp for displaced persons due to the conflict in South Sudan. When she menstruates, its not just about shame or hygiene but her right to attend school and be safe from early marriage. Her story I think really highlights some of the people who are often ignored in the issue- the men.

The shame and social norms that are associated with menstruation are perpetuated more often by men than women. Sunday knew her father plays an important role in her life, and so when a man wanted to marry her when her menstruation began at 16 she made a case to her father that she should finish her education first, be able to support herself and her parents, and then she could marry. Sunday’s insight into understanding how important it was to approach her father and discuss these issues allowed her to continue her education. Men are important in changing this narrative.

RS: What barriers or struggles did you encounter when challenging and documenting period poverty?

LAB: The biggest struggle was that I chose to make a film on an issue all women could relate to and men should be aware of, but one specifically focused on African women. As in a lot of my work I am an outsider coming in, asking for someone to share something I even found hard to discuss. I always give my contributors the freedom to walk away and one nearly did, because she felt I could not understand her or her situation. I was upset, not for the project but for this misunderstanding and how it had upset her and was ready to leave when she asked if she could call her uncle and ask his advice (again- see men ARE important in this issue). After the conversation she changed her mind and wanted to share her story, and the film is all the better from it.

RS: What’s next in your work?

MR: WOMENstruate was the first documentary I’ve ever done where it was focused primarily on the dialogue and my cinematic shots took a backseat. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to know I could create a documentary so far outside my comfort zone and have it resonate with others, its given me the confidence to remotely direct a documentary on essential workers in my home city of New York. It’s called ‘When The Shifts Change’ and focusing on having essential workers record themselves just before or just after their shift changes during COVID-19. It will cover issues of healthcare access, isolation, racism, and belief systems.

It feels strange to be away from the frontlines when that’s where I usually am, but I always focus on the safety of contributors and this time its also the safety of the general public so having my contributors self-record their shift changes brings another interesting dynamic to what this film will become. I’m also doing a lot of virtual public speaking and hosting screenings. If you’d like to host a screening of WOMENstruate, please don’t hesitate to reach out!