One in four people with vaginas will experience chronic vulvovaginal pain in their lifetime, yet this is a topic rarely discussed in media or even among friends. We live in a society that even makes saying the word “vagina” taboo! Bonnie Gross, however, is on a mission to change all this.

Bonnie is the writer and producer of Lady Parts, an independent feature film showing on Saturday, August 24 at Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Alabama.

Lady Parts follows Paige, an aspiring screenwriter living in Los Angeles who’s just days away from securing a writer’s assistant position. But she’s also grappling with severe vaginal pain. She’s suffered broken relationships due to painful sex, and gone to multiple doctors who weren’t able to give her a correct diagnosis. Feed up, Paige sees the top specialist in the city, but the price of the initial appointment forces Paige to call her parents for financial help. Soon, Paige’s sexual health becomes a family affair after she must turn down her dream job and move back in with her parents to have vaginal surgery. But during her recovery, we see Paige not only heal from surgery but learn to advocate for herself in all aspects of her life along the way.

Lady Parts is a story based on Bonnie’s own experience with chronic vulvovaginal. This film is the perfect example of a woman sharing her story in an empowering way and, in turn, helping herself and others to heal.

Nancy Boyd, who directed the film, also struggles with vaginismus. Bonnie says for her and Nancy turning these struggles into a work of art has been “cathartic and beautiful.” This work of art came to be with the help of a majority female-identifying crew including cinematographer Olaa Olabi, editor, Edith Belmont, producer, Meghan Griesbeck, composer, Hollie Buhagiar, and lead actress Valentina Tammaro.

We had a chat with Bonnie and Nancy about the film, which premiered at the Florida Film Festival and snagged the Audience Choice for Best Narrative Feature and the Special Jury Award for Screenwriting.