Private Project

Code Red

After a menstrual mishap on her way to class, a professor is exposed to her students and must decide whether to flee the scene or teach a lesson about shame.

  • Jessica McGaugh
    Director
  • Jessica McGaugh
    Writer
  • Jessica McGaugh
    Producer
  • Emilia Perez Rocha
    Producer
  • Melanie McLean Brooks
    Director of Photography
  • Nicole Heetland
    Production Designer
  • Beth Fraser
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Jessica McGaugh

Jessica McGaugh is an award-winning filmmaker and a tenure-track faculty member in the School of Theatre, Television, and Film at San Diego State University. She teaches production courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Jessica received an MFA in Film from Syracuse University with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women’s Studies.

Jessica’s work celebrates diversity and inclusion through her use of underrepresented characters, storylines, and project collaborators. Her films have screened across the globe including the Vancouver International Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, NDTV and Rocky Mountain PBS. Jessica’s feature films Red Pearl and Three Worlds, One Stage are available through iTunes/AppleTV, Amazon, Roku, Vudu, and Walmart.

Jessica’s recent release, Tina Tina Bo Bina, follows a fictional performance artist struggling to balance the expectations of motherhood with fulfilling her wild side through art-making. Jessica’s project Womanhood: The Series, a collection of comedic short films, aims to break the taboos associated with women’s bodies and gender expectations. The series’ team is currently in development of its second season which focuses on women in STEM careers. Season 1 was awarded “Best Series” and “Best Director” at film festivals around the globe.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Menstruation is a shared experience among girls and women and remains a widely stigmatized issue. Gender and cultural norms shape the discourse of menstruation around the world, resulting in behavioral expectations to hide it. Evidence of this is in the language we use to discuss it: “time of the month,” “Aunt flow,” “shark week.”

Further evidence from a 2023 study states that 78% of young women say there is a negative association that periods are gross and unsanitary, and 63% agree that society teaches people to be ashamed of their periods. The same study suggests a gap in education, and more than 4 in 5 (76%) of students believe they are taught more about the biology of frogs than the human female body (see link).

Shaming women for menstruating can lead to period poverty and insufficient healthcare.

There are actions we can take to reduce the negative impacts of this stigma: normalize conversations about periods, talk to teens about how they purchase menstrual products, continue research to better understand the problem, build a coalition of advocates within the medical community, and serve as advocates for key issues.

Grown Up contributes to the conversation by providing an entertaining and exciting film designed to spark discussion and further action. One of the unique parts of this film is that the story is told through a comedic lens. Comedy is an effective tool for unmasking taboo topics with the ability to attract a large audience and spark social change.

https://www.thinx.com/thinx/blogs/periodical/health/state-of-the-period-2023