Ruby (15) does everything she can during her menstruation not to bother her hard-working mother with asking to buy tampons, because she knows there is no money for them.
A study by Plan International shows that 9% of Dutch women between 12 and 25 years old sometimes don’t have money to buy menstruation products. These menstruation products are viewed in the Netherlands (and a lot of other countries) as luxury products. They’re not donated to foodbanks and the costs are not covered by insurance companies. A lot of women are facing this needless struggle. Spotless tells not only the story of Ruby, but also a lot of other women in the Netherlands. By opening up, it tries to break down the barriers that women have to face.
This film is for everyone between 12-100. The film is a short drama, that informs the viewer about menstruation poverty, a fairly unknown societal issue. This film is for girls and women that have face or have faced this problem. This film is for the girls and women that, every month, don’t have enough money to buy mentruation products.
This film is for mothers and fathers.
And this film is for the municipalities, institutions and schools, to share this knowledge.
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
41st Netherlands Film Festival – short film selection, Netherlands, September 2021
Nomination debut price
35th Cinekid – Best Dutch Short Film Competition, Netherlands, October 2021
Winner Best Dutch Short Film
2021 HER Film Festival – Netherlands, October 2021
72nd Berlinale – Generation Competition, International premiere, February 2022 Winner Crystal Bear Generation Kplus – Best Short Film
42nd International Filmfestival Assen – Noordsterren Competition, March 2022
39th BUFF Film Festival Malmö – Short Film Panorama, Sweden, March 2022
16th International Frauen* Film Fest Dortmund & Köln – Program for children and young adults, Germany, March 2022
26th Regard Festival international du court métrage au Saguenay – International competition, Canada, March 2022 Winner Grand Prize – Best Film
14th Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, Dutch Competition, April 2022 Winner Audience Award High School Students
25th Brussel Short Film Festival – International competition, Belgium, April 2022
2022 Landshuter Kurzfilmfestival/ Short Film Festival – International Competition, Germany, April/May 2022
20th Plein la Bobine 2022 Film Festival – Competition 12+, France, May 2022 Winner Audience Award High School Students
19th Vienna Short International Film festival – Non-competitive program, Vienna, May/June 2022
10th Cinema in Sneakers Film Festival – Short Film Competition, Poland, May/June 2022
24th Mo&Friese Junges Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg – International Competition, Germany, May/June 2022
14th Short Waves Festival – Poland, June 2022
26th VERS Film Awards – Official Selection, Amsterdam, June 2022
12th Figari International Short Film Fest – Videomarket, Sardinia, June 2022
18th FEST New Directors | New Films Festival 2022 – Children/teenagers competition FESTinha SUB16, Portugal, June 2022 Winner FESTinha SUB16
Young Director Awards – Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, France, June 2022 Winner Gold Young Director Award – Emma Branderhorst
Dutch Directors Guild Awards – Shortlist Short Fiction, Netherlands, June 2022
Motovun Film Festival – Shorts competition program, Croatia, July 2022
OFF – Odense International Film Festival – International Competition & Youth Competition – Denmark, August/September 2022
5th Cut to: GENT – official competition, Belgium, September 2022
Festival Du Film Jeune De Lyon – official competition, France, September 2022
19th Reykjavík International Film Festival – Youth Program (non-competitive), Iceland, September/October 2022
Shortcutz Amsterdam, Nederland, 4 oktober 2022
Winnaar Audience Award, Best Screenplay Award en Best Film Award 2023
International Young Audience Film Festival Ale Kino! – official competition, Poland, October 2022
Bolton International Film Festival – Official competition, England, October 2022
Winner Lens for Change Award
3rd Humans of Film Festival – Short Film competition, Amsterdam, October 2022
Winner Special Mention Jury
Schulkinwoche Film Festival Hamburg, Germany, October 2022
Shortcutz Amsterdam, Netherlands, 4 October 2022
Winner Audience Award, Best Screenplay Award and Best Film Award 2023
2022 San Diego Intl Film Festival, United States, October 2022
Lobo Fest – International Film Festival, Brasil, 19-30 October 2022
Uppsala Short Film Festival, Zweden, 24-30 October 2022
15th Filem’On International Film Festival – ECFA Award: European Short Film competition, Brussels, October/November 2022
41st Oulu International Children’s and Youth Film Festival – Short Film competition, Finland, November 2022
37th Brest European Short Film Festival – official competition, France, November 2022
FACETS 39th Annual Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (“CICFF”), United States, November 2022
Japan Prize Award for Educational Media, Japan, 1-4 November 2022
Winner Best Work in the Youth Division (The Minister for Foreign Affairs Prize)
St Louis International Film Festival, United States, 3-13 November 2022
13th Edition of Amnesty Film Festival Paris, France, 4-16 November 2022
Winner Jury Price
MenstruAÇÃO Film Screening, Brasil, 8-9 November 2022
Ciclope Festival, Shortlist Special Categories, Berlin, Germany, 8-10 November 2022
KUKI 15th edition, Berlin, Germany, 13-20 November 2022
16th edition Kurzfilmfestival Cologne, Germany, 17-20 November 2022
Schulkinwoche Film Festival Hamburg, Germany, November 2022
Festival international du film d’éducation, France, 29 November – 3 December 2022
New Filmmakers LA (NFMLA), Los Angeles, United States, 3-5 December 2022
Event Cultural Counselor Paris, France, 10 December 2022
Festival PLAY, Portugal, 15 January 2023
Winner Public Award
Indie Júnior International Children’s and youth FF of Porto, Portugal 23-29 January 2023. (Not yet announced)
JEF Children’s Film Festival, Belgium, 11-26 February. (Not yet announced)
Premiers Plans Angers Festival, France, 17-26 January. (Not yet announced)
Short Film Day Film Fest Dresden, Germany, 21 December.
Cinematheque Passion Macau, China, 8 March.
FEST-Cineclube de Espinho, Kino Club, Portugal, all year round.
University of Ilmenau in Germany, Hochschulfilmclub, Germany, 2-3 February.
Joinville International Film Festival, Brazil, 7-11 March 2023
Winner Best director
Winner JISFF Best Film 2023
New York International Children’s Film Festival, 3-19 March 2023
Mecal Pro Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival,
Spain, 29 June – 9 July 2023
KIKI International film festival for kids, Croatia 9 – 13 October 2023
Film By The Sea, The Netherlands, 8-17 September 2023
Balkans Beyond Borders, Montenegro, 11-14 October 2023
Supported by the Netherlands Film Fund (Film Fund Short 2020), Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and by Linda Foundation, Libresse by Essity.