Menstrual movie mela concludes today

Kochi: An NGO, to create awareness on menstruation, has organized a four-day online ‘menstrual movie mela’ through Google meet. The mela will conclude on Friday.
Hosted by Kavya Menon, an ecofeminist, the event, which began on Tuesday coincided with Menstrual Hygiene Day (May 28), also has audience interactive sessions with directors. Though six movies were chosen for screening in theatres, it had to be conducted online due to Covid lockdown.
Chennai-based Kavya, said since she was in Angamaly during this period, she decided to host it from ther. “When we put across details of the event on facebook, we were overwhelmed by the response. Around 3,000 people have sent requests to watch the movies. I had to restrict the audience to 100. But people kept trying to register and wanted to come in,” said Kavya.
The movies include Chayilyam (Mal) by Manoj Kana, My first period (Tamil) by Kanna, Her First Time (Hindi) by Divya Unny, The Moon Inside You (multi-lingual) by Diana Fabianova. Movies that would be screened on Friday 6pm & 8pm are ‘First Period: An MHM’ story (Hindi) by Mozez S Singh, ‘Rejaswala’ (Mal) by Amritha Padmakumar.
Kavya said around 30% of the audience registering are men but the number dwindles as it moves to the discussion stage. LGBTQ members too had joined to watch movies, she added.
To participate, register through their facebook page 'sustainablemenstruationtn' or susmenstruationtn@gmail.com. “Ensure google meet is available in your device. We will send a google meet link to the registered email address by 5.30pm on the day of screening. Accept the invitations which will be open from 5.30pm. It’s a first-come first-serve format,” she said.
Kavya and her NGO Sustainable Menstruation TN is a collective that is focuses on creating awareness on menstruation to people irrespective of their age, geographies or gender and sexuality.