Victoria-based director Kate Green has recently completed a groundbreaking project on bringing awareness to the natural (and often overlooked) cycle, menopause.
The documentary is an empowering and hopeful look at menopause for all that are going through it, will go through it, or wish to support someone during.
Directed and produced by Green, Menopause: Coming in Hot, aims at breaking down barriers and stigma surrounding menopause and how it impacts women worldwide.
Considering over one billion women across the globe are postmenopausal and new women are facing this new stage each day, Green wanted to redefine it as an empowering transition while acknowledging its challenges.
In an interview with Green, she said it was inspired by her own experience navigating peri-menopausal symptoms, and she hopes to shift how other people approach it as well.
“It’s been a really eye-opening process,” Green laughed.
“Knowing and learning about my own personal symptoms and sharing them with the world has been a very vulnerable experience, and getting insight from the many experts we interviewed has been so valuable.”
Green added that one in two women feel completely unprepared for this stage in their lives, especially as they reach the peak in their careers and are looking to level up, only to get hit with a new phase without much straightforward help and solutions.
It underlines the gap that needs to be filled in this area of healthcare, especially when you look at the hit on the workforce
“There’s $237 million dollars lost in productivity every year in Canada, so when a third of your workforce is going through this, you would think that [businesses] would try to fill this gap,” she said.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”
Green also said in addition to businesses needing to come up with better supports for women, the lack of education can, unfortunately, be traced back to the lack of information provided to doctors as they go through training.
“Doctors are given an hour or maybe two hours of menopause training, or not at all. UBC just announced that they’ll be adding menopause information to their curriculum, so that’s a step forward.”
So, while it may not be the doctors fault if they’re unsure what to do or say if a woman comes to them for menopause symptoms, Green said that it’s shocking that this level of uncertainty hasn’t been corrected by adding it to more curricula.
This information came from some of the medical experts Green interviewed, including Dr. Lori Brotto, a Canadian psychologist who is a renowned figure in the field of women’s sexual health; and Dr. Whitney Wood, who discussed the history of women’s health.
Some of the groups that stood out, and are a recommended resource for community and shared experience include the women at the Menopause Foundation of Canada and Shirley Weir’s support website called “Menopause Chicks.”
Green said that as humans continue to live longer lifespans, it’s important to know what’s needed to protect joint and muscle health as we age, and part of that is understanding menopause and how it changes the body.
“There’s so much more that we have to do preventatively now [that] we’re living four or five more decades after we turn 50.”
Green laughed and said that it’s amazing how much the conversation has changed even within the last few years, adding that maybe it’s because of the Gen X’ers like herself that no longer want to just sweep these issues under the rug.
“It wasn’t even called ‘menopause,’ it was just called ‘the change.’”
“I do think the education in this has to start with women at a younger age, it goes back to the idea of preventative healthcare and medicine.”
She highlighted this adds a sense of urgency to the topic, which was also part of the motivation to get this documentary out there.
When asked what her hope is for the documentary, she said the main one is to make an impact and remind women that life and beauty isn’t over the second menopause hits—that there are many incredible years left and you’re not alone in this experience.
“Women that I talk to that have gone through it and are on the other side, say that it’s the best years of their life. They give—excuse my language—zero f***s…they are free and have all this knowledge and maturity and experience, and are still young.”
She believes there will be pieces that anyone can resonate with, as everyone probably has an individual either going through menopause or will eventually.
In terms of any advice Green has for anyone going through menopause, she says to talk to your doctor, find a community and be open about it.
“The more we talk about it, the better off the next generation will be.”
Greenlit by TELUS originals, this feature documentary was directed and produced by Green, and co-produced by Amber Orchard. Also on the production team included Olivia Fellows and Jessica Young of Young Fellows Pictures.
The film’s cast and crew was approximately 90% women, giving the show an authenticity in its approach and execution.
“Our camera crew was all female…and our post-production was all women…in the film industry women have been fighting for change, and the change has started to happen,” Green said.
“This only happened because women kept talking, kept fighting for equality, and that’s the hope I have for menopause. By doing that, you fight the stigma, and then it just becomes a normal part of our society and is not taboo.”
The film’s release will depend on festival appearances, so stay tuned on Green’s website for dates!
