This Short Film Will Be Relatable To Any Girl Who’s Gotten Her Period on a Hot Date
There’s nothing worse than getting your period unexpectedly. Except for, of course, getting your period unexpectedly while out on a hot date. Honestly, even if you know it’s coming, and your crush asks you out for dinner at his damn house while you’re on your period, it’s still a huge bummer.
Sure, you could have sex on your period, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to be cramping, or bloated, or having the always lovely period-induced diarrhea.
Filmmaker Zara Burdett gets it, and she wants other people to get it too, which is why she decided to make a short film about this specific female experience (also because, low key, period blood is art).
“Whether we like it or not, women spend so much time watching ‘guy humor’ on screen. We’re fully expected to relate to and empathize with their bathroom/dick/masturbation/sex-issues as if they’re our own,” says Zara. “When women do the same, though, it’s typically considered ‘disgusting,’ ‘taboo’ or ‘unladylike,’ which is absurd to me, since women’s bodies go through so much and we have so few outlets available in our entertainment. I wanted to make something which would make me feel more seen as a woman, and more comfortable in my skin.”
Vivian Benitez plays opposite Rushi Kota on a hot date that’s slightly interrupted by Vivian’s stomach growling. A somewhat artistic, symphonic bathroom scene ensues.
“My thought process when I first read the script was horror, disgust, and then suddenly, enlightenment,” says Vivian. “I think every actor has anxiety about people thinking their acting is bad, but a whole other layer gets added on when you think, ‘will people think my toilet-period-poo acting is bad?’”
Thankfully, after the release Vivian got lots of feedback from women who said “ew! But I love it, same!” This was basically my reaction after watching the film, too.
Zara hopes that, “After so many years of hiding our periods and having to pretend we feel sexy when we actually feel the opposite, I hope audiences can breathe a big sigh of relief and have a big old laugh as well.”
We hope you can too–enjoy the short film below!
