Period Piece :: Jay Rosenblatt Films

How Do You Measure a Year? When We Were Bullies The Kodachrome Elegies When You Awake The Darkness of Day The Claustrum The D Train Phantom Limb Human Remains The Smell of Burning Ants King of the Jews Period Piece I Just Wanted to Be Somebody Beginning Filmmaking I Used to Be a Filmmaker The Films of Jay Rosenblatt - Vol 1 The Films of Jay Rosenblatt - Vol 2


	Period Piece a film about “that time of the month” Co-directed by Jennifer Frame and Jay Rosenblatt 30 minutes • Beta SP • color • 1996 Recommended by Booklist and Library Journal "PERIOD PIECE is a delightful and thoughtful film essay on the uneasy attitudes toward menstruation still prevalent in our culture." -Jean M. Humez, Professor, Women’s Studies, Univ. of Mass., Boston Period Piece is a documentary about menarche -- a girl's first menstrual period -- which is a fundamental experience in every woman's life, yet one that is rarely celebrated. Women of different ages (8-84) and multi-cultural backgrounds tell their menarchal stories with candor and humor. Their poignant stories reveal feelings about womanhood, family dynamics and society's complicated attitude toward menstruation. Interspersed throughout Period Piece, as counterpoint to what the women are saying, are portions of old 1950's educational films about menstruation. Period Piece addresses the pain girls experience trying to negotiate their bodies and their culture. The subject of menarche is rarely mentioned publicly, and in many families it is not even broached in private. Rather than celebrate this coming of age, we hide it and women are advised to deodorize, sanitize, and remove the evidence. Women watching this film will discover their connectedness to others, and mothers are provided with a choice they may not have realized they had about how to aid their daughters in this important and often neglected life transition. View study guide REVIEWS “Period Piece is a delightful and thoughtful film essay on the uneasy attitudes toward menstruation still prevalent in our culture…useful in Women’s Studies, Sociology, and Anthropology courses.” - Jean M. Humez, Professor, Women’s Studies Program, University of Massachussetts, Boston “…a feast for the eyes as well as the mind and heart. Period Piece is a celebration of the multicultural perspectives that are a simple fact of life in the U.S. This is an excellent film for educators.” - Thomas Buckley, Associate Professor, Anthropology/American Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston Co-editor, Blood Magic: The Anthropology of Menstruation “…poignant, honest and often funny. In any course concerning women’s sexuality and socialization, it is sure to stimulate insight and discussion.” - Kathleen Sands, Asst. Professor, Religious Studies, Univ. of Mass., Boston “Period Piece provides a window into the feminine internalization of society’s fear of menstruation, and in doing so moves the viewer to a deep respect for one of humankind’s most denigrated miracles.” - J. M. Benevedes, PhD., Clinical Psychologist and Author AWARDS Bronze Apple, National Educational Media Network Honorable Mention, Columbus International Film Festival Media Award, National Council on Family Relations Recommended by Booklist and Library Journal SCREENINGS Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA Big Muddy Film Festival Women of Vision Series, KCSM Women in the Directors Chair, Chicago Sinking Creek Film & Video Festival American Cinematheque Alternative Screen Series, Los Angeles CREDITS Producer, Director, Editor: Jennifer Frame & Jay Rosenblatt Cinematographer: Caitlin Manning Sound Recordist: Sharon Jue

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