Would the global conversation be different if men were the ones who got abortions?
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Filmmaker Natalia Cricri explores that question in her 13-minute short film, An Eight Letter Word Starting With A, set in an abortion clinic in a world where men are the ones to bear children.
The short film offers a new perspective on an issue that has seen women around the world take to the streets this week to fight for reproductive rights, Ms Cricri said.
"It flips the world upside down," she said.
"What would it be like if men were the ones having these conversations?"
Ms Cricri, who works as a teacher in the NSW Southern Highlands, shot the film in 2019 at the Campbelltown Arts Centre in one continuous take.
After entering it in more than 50 festivals worldwide, the film took out the emerging talent award at the Canberra film fest last year, and won awards in several others.
Now that she's done the festival rounds, Ms Cricri is ready to put the short film out into the public domain.
Following the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade, Ms Cricri hopes An Eight Letter Word Starting With A will make people think more critically about bodily autonomy.
"I would encourage anyone on the fence, or who holds strong conservative views, to watch it because it might offer you a different point of view," she said.
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Ms Cricri said she was inspired to write the film partly because of her own experience of having others project their views onto her body.
"Being a woman in my 20s and 30s, everyone had an opinion on when I should have kids," she said.
"Everyone had something to say about my own journey and my own body."
With the support of her husband, who co-produced the film and assisted with music and sound design, Ms Cricri and her team have released the film for free on Youtube.
"We're hoping it doesn't get banned or pulled down because of the topic."
She said it's an important time to have the film freely available in the public domain.
