Films with children at the helms with a focus on menstrual health hygiene were released at a children’s film festival organized by UNICEF and Aaina.
The films involving 26 children from two schools explored the theme of periods and menstrual health hygiene. 9-day workshops were conducted in both Tapoban High School in Bhubaneswar and Manikeswari High School, Kalahandi. In these 9 days, the first three days were for story development and Script Writing. The fourth and fifth days focused on the technical part of the filmmaking process i.e., handling of equipment and shooting techniques. The last four days were kept for shooting and editing.
“The initiative of Kallol is really praiseworthy. This should be continued around the year. The film is the foremost medium to reach the mass. So the films produced by the children will touch each heart”, said Chairperson of Odisha Film Development Corporation Kuna Tripathy.
“Menstruation is a sensitive issue which should be discussed openly so that the taboos are eroded. The film is perhaps the best suitable medium that can appeal the people. Hence the films made by the children will definitely bring changes in the social mindset”, Director of SC, ST, Minority and OBC Development
“It is important to provide children platforms for creative self-expression. These films made by children deal with the complex issues of periods including gender, lack of awareness and discrimination very well. We believe these films can support our efforts to normalize periods and remove the shame associated with it”, Dr. Monika Nelson, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Odisha said.
“It was very difficult to work on the issue of menstruation/period in the seventh edition of Kallola. A lot of questions flashed in our minds. But after watching the movies on such a sensitive issue, we feel that all our efforts are successful. The children have played excellent roles in the movies, especially the role of boys is very appealing and of a high standard”, said Sneha Mishra, Secretary of AAINA.