How far is an artist supposed to go or allowed to go in their creative process before they’ve crossed boundaries into the unforgivable? Why are people having periods still taboo to talk, show and reference about in person and on screen? And what does all of this have to do with fermentation? These are just some questions audiences will ask of themselves after seeing the Canadian short film A Fermenting Woman, directed by Priscilla Galvez, and written by Maisie Jacobson.
Winning the Programmer’s Choice Award at the 2024 Bali International Short Film Festival’s Minikino Film Week, A Fermenting Woman stars Sook-yin Lee as Marielle Lau, a passionate chef who has dedicated her life to perfecting the art of fermentation. A process that requires time, patience, a love of science, and imagination when to create new flavors and ingredients to complement her inventive culinary inventions. But her creativity is put to the test when she learns the restaurant she works in has been bought over by a new set of owners.
With this sudden and very unwanted change, Marielle’s creativity is affected when the stress of this new situation coincides with the beginning of her period during her menstrual cycle. Priscilla and Maisie brilliantly tie the emotional stakes of Marielle’s job being threatened to the emotional turmoil women experience during their periods.
Desperate to create the perfect new dish to impress her new bosses, Marielle becomes obsessed with creating a new fermentation product, and in so doing comes up with an idea so outlandish (and perhaps stomach churning for some), but is what she believes is what’s necessary, one wonders if the stress has completely broken her.
Lee is terrific at conveying Marielle’s gradual loss of control until she crosses a line no chef should ever cross. Going from the calm and composed person introduced at the beginning of the film, Sook-yin, Priscilla and Maisie take Marielle on a journey where she seems to lose her sense of self and does the unthinkable, giving up a piece of herself to obtain the approval of others.
Jacobson writes a new narrative context to the old adage of giving of one’s “blood, sweat, and tears”, that women will find intimately and achingly – pun fully intended – familiar. In my interview with Priscilla and Maisie they shared about how Marielle’s plight is reflective of the sacrifices women are expected to make and the pain they’re expected to endure in professional setting such as the film industry, and how A Fermenting Woman, challenges audiences to examine their own thoughts on periods, why we still find them difficult to speak about. We also discussed the similarities between chefs, directors, and writers and how far is too far where a creation, whether it be a fancy dish, or an inventive film goes from enjoyment to punishment.
A Fermenting Woman, was co-produced by Priscilla and Rielle Ramos of Silent Tower, and won the Short Film Audience Award at the Strasbourg European Fantastic Festival.
Carolyn Hinds
Freelance Film Critic, Journalist, Podcaster & YouTuber
African American Film Critics Association Member, Tomatometer-Approved Critic
Host & Producer Carolyn Talks…, and So Here’s What Happened! Podcast
Bylines at http://Authory.com/CarolynHinds
Twitter & Instagram: @CarrieCnh12
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