By turns mysterious, pained, fearful, and euphoric, female pubescent experiences—such as menstruation—have come to define not only physical and emotional transformations but perhaps the cisgender female identity itself. Whether condemned, ignored, or celebrated, the reckoning with one’s bodily changes—often in blood—produces a perennially rich and intriguing terrain on which filmmakers wield their craft, telling stories of female heroines and anti-heroines with gushing physicality, disquieting plot twists, and sanguineous pleasures.

‘Genre, Period’ is a bold-faced capsule film series recognising female filmmakers, screenwriters, and animators who have addressed female puberty head-on with their successful experimentations and recent innovations in genre cinema. Beyond mere repetitions of ‘final girl’ tropes or clever allusions to Italian giallo gender politics, These films provide a refreshing, pluralistic take on the contemporary female experience—one as multifaceted as the kinds of films that could yet be made on the topic.

Cult favourite Ginger Snaps (2000) contends with lycanthropy, puberty, and sisterhood alike as inescapable rites of passage; critically acclaimed body horror drama Raw (2016) turns ethical issues of female agency and gender-based angst on its head; and oft-cited vampire Western A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) trains a critical eye on female pubescence as—for better or worse—an endless opportunity for self-discovery.

This series also features animated shorts by emerging female artists whose tenderly-drawn vignettes reflect the interiority of women and girls in their individual and collective experiences. One of three short films will precede each of the feature-length films works.