Leaked by Nikki Rosengren and Pōʻai Lincoln
Leaked uncovers the not so ordinary period experiences of ordinary people, sharing that every menstrator has a unique story and relationship with periods. By sharing these stories, we can further destigmatize the period taboo.
Long Project Description
Each 10 minute episode will highlight different menstruators stories and experiences. Episodes will explore a variety of themes, such as periods and adolescence, menopause, menstruation complications, menstruation in a number of cultures, and the way menstruation impacts daily life. Periods are in their prime. A number of films and TV shows reference periods. Hawai’i just passed a law so that period products are free in public and charter schools. As periods are starting to be more normalized in media, it provides an environment that these stories are welcomed to be shared, whereas 10 years ago they may have been considered taboo.
Developed during the 2023 Wāhine in Film Lab
Artist/Director Statement
I got my period a month before my 10th birthday. Even with parents who celebrated my first bleed, I cried on my way to school that morning -- terrified of leaking and feeling alone. What I wish 9 year old me had realized was that I was just one of 800 million people that day on their period. Destigmatizing the period taboo through story sharing fosters a sense of community, creates empathy, spreads awareness and knowledge, and leads to gender equity, better health care for menstruators as well as many other positive side affects.
Connection to the story
In graduate school I started researching periods- specifically
how young menstruators are affected by the period stigma,
and started to develop various ways to support the destigmatization of periods, including developing lesson plans
and Professional Development around period awareness and
education, and created a mock Cheerio’s cereal brand with
my siblings: “PeriOd’s.” I also started interviewing friends and colleagues about their period experience. While listening to her friends’ menstrual adventures, it became clear that the interviewees felt a sense of freedom when talking openly
about their periods. Very quickly the idea to develop a series around the menstruation experiences came to be.
Creative Team
Producer: Pō'ai Lincoln
Pō ́ai Lincoln was born and raised in Waimea on the Big Island. She is the Membership Program Manager at the Friends of ʻIolani Palace and is a professionally trained musician who focuses on the perpetuation of Hawaiian music styles and history. She is a storyteller who is keenly aware of how word choice influences the audience and how the perspective of the storyteller informs the narrative.
Director: Danica Rosengren
Danica Rosengren is is a theatre artist, educator, story gatherer and period advocate. Her menstrual activism began in graduate school when she interviewed friends about their periods for a class project. While listening to her friends’ menstrual adventures, it became clear that the interviewees felt a sense of freedom when talking openly about their periods. Since those interviews, she has developed an immersive menstrual art installation, created an arts-integrated curriculum and professional development, and spread menstrual awareness through creating a mock cereal with her siblings called PeriOds! She holds an MFA in Theatre for Youth, and creates immersive performance for young people and their
caregivers.
Director of Photography: Martha Nicholas
Martha Nicholas is a filmmaker who was born and raised in Honolulu. She graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa with a double major in Creative Media and American Studies. Alongside interning for Regional Emmy™ award Reel Wāhine of Hawaiʻi, Nicholas has experience as a cinematographer and assistant editor ‘Ilima Lady documentary. She is also a previous Wāhine in Film Lab fellow and a filmmaking mentor for Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking. Nicholas continues to explore multiple avenues within the film industry.
Status
Pre-Production
Contact information
Director: Danica Rosengren
@danicarosengren
201-783-3240
7x Studios LLC
