Episode 028: Shattering Menstrual Stigma Through Film with Melissa Berton

The Days for Girls Podcast

Melissa Berton is the Academy Award-winning producer of PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE., a documentary film about menstrual stigma which won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short in 2019. She is an LA-based teacher and writer, as well as the Founder & Executive Director of The Pad Project: a nonprofit (and Days for Girls partner) dedicated to the principle that “a period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education.”

In this episode, Melissa dives into the story behind PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE., what inspired her to create the film, and how the power of creativity, hard work and Kismet (good fortune) made it all come together. She also talks about the evolution of The Pad Project, its global impact and the role her students have played – and continue to play - in fighting period poverty around the world.

Highlights:

• Melissa’s journey from high school teacher to Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker
• The origins, making and impact of PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE
• How the film’s Oscar success provided enough financial security to seed its corresponding nonprofit initiative, The Pad Project, which now operates in four different countries
• What inspired Melissa’s passion for empowering women and girls
• The role that Melissa’s high school students played in bringing the film and The Pad Project to life, and where they are today

Connect:

Website: www.thepadproject.org

Social media: @thepadproject

Bio:

Melissa Berton is a Los Angeles-based teacher, writer and the Academy Award-winning producer for Best Documentary Short (2019): PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE. She is also the Founder & Executive Director of The Pad Project, a non- profit organization dedicated to the principle that “a period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education.” In recognition of her human rights work to promote menstrual equity, Berton received the 2019 Eleanor Roosevelt Global Women’s Rights Award.

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