“GENUINELY EMPOWERING. THIS IS GALVANISING, BOUNDARY-PUSHING ART AT IT'S BEST.”

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

— Charlotte Jansen,The Guardian

SXSW Film & TV Festival 2024 official selection logo with laurel wreath design.
A detailed black and white outline diagram of the human skeletal system showing bones and joints.
Black silhouette of a woman balancing on a tightrope with a pole, surrounded by a full moon and stars in the night sky.
Black and white cartoon illustration of a woman with glasses, standing in front of a whiteboard, presenting to an audience.
A collage of quotes and reviews in red, black, and white text on a black background praising the movie 'Amazed,' with words like 'viscerally compelling,' 'radical,' and 'empowering,' along with logos and names of various publications.
Meta Quest logo with a stylized blue infinity symbol and the words 'Meta Quest' in black and gray text.

“It’s not every day you find yourself riding on a giant tampon across a blood red lagoon, on your way to fight a cyclopean octopus with your bare hands. But here you are, on a journey of self-discovery – which also involves some intense face-offs with cruel teenagers and a grilling from your mother in your bedroom (to those who have grown up with south Asian parents, a trigger warning – this character is terrifyingly accurate).

Artist-activist Poulomi Basu has made a genre-bending playable artwork/ interactive virtual reality/ immersive animated film about a menstruating superhero, Maya. It would be easy to scoff at this, but Maya: The Birth of a Superhero, co-directed by Basu’s longtime collaborator CJ Clarke, is a fun and poignant coming-of-age romp that is genuinely empowering. Part superhero satire, part psychological thriller, Maya takes the participatory genre in a bold new direction.

Whether you’ve menstruated or not, this brings you closer to what it’s like, and how it might be seen differently – as the film makes clear, menstruation is still globally stigmatised and, in many cultures, a taboo.

Basu’s previous work, Blood Speaks, managed to shift laws around menstrual exile, known as chhaupadi, practised in Nepal. While that piece took a documentary approach to show the conditions of a teenager with postpartum bleeding forced to live in a hut in exile, here Maya unites the experiences of women in the east and west, turning shame into a superpower.”

- The Guardian, 4****

Poster for the immersive experience titled 'Maya: The Birth of a Superhero'. The poster features a black background with red and white text and graphics. It includes a large blood drop shape with a white moon inside and a silhouette of a superwoman figure hanging upside down within the blood drop. The names Indira Varma and Charithra Chandran are displayed at the top in red, and the event is associated with Festival de Cannes 2024. Additional text references Poulomi Basu and CJ Clarke, and logos for various organizations are at the bottom.

An immersive story following Maya, an ordinary 21st Century girl, as she transforms into a uniquely female superhero whose powers derive from menstruation.

The story of a South Asian girls coming of age and the awakening of her sexuality. She must overcome her own shame and fear to find her inner strength and true super-powers.

With the arrival of her first period Maya’s world is turned upside down as she is confronted by the restrictive traditions of her conservative family and a world of hidden shame, stigma and taboo in contemporary London.

An odyssey of womanhood and femininity, referencing ancient symbols of spiritual and feminine power, the piece draws together the real and the imaginary to trace possible paths to resilience and justice. The Player must discover a radical power based on self love, care and solidarity.

Created and co-directed by renowned artist and women rights activist, Poulomi Basu and co-directed by CJ Clarke, MAYA: The Birth of a Superhero stars Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Charithra Chandran (Bridgerton) and Florrie Antoniou.

For more information, please get in touch.

Produced by Just Another Production Company and Floréal in co-production with France Télévision – Francetv Storylab, in conjunction with the Meta VR for Good program.

This project was possible thanks to the support of the CNC – Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, The City of Paris and Digital Catapult/Creative XR. It was developed with the support of the Immersive Creators Catalyst established by Women in Immersive Technologies Europe (WITT) and Unity for Humanity. 

Cast

A woman with dark, curly hair, wearing a black sleeveless top with ruffles, stands with her arms crossed in front of a retro orange and black patterned background.
Close-up portrait of a woman with dark hair styled sleek and straight, wearing a black turtleneck, with a neutral background.

Indira Varma

IMDB

press

Charithra Chandran

IMDB

Digital illustration of a woman with glowing eyes, wearing traditional clothing and jewelry, with fiery swirl behind her and the 'The Guardian' logo in the top left corner.

THE GUARDIAN

A female doll in traditional attire surrounded by neon rings and lines, with the text 'cineforum' in the top left corner.

CINEFORUM

A graphic with a black background features a red blood drop with a white circle inside, and a black silhouette of a hand with dripping blood at the bottom. A blue and white logo in the top-left corner reads "FRANCE 24" with a ripple effect beneath it.

FRANCE 24

Digital artwork of a woman with long dark curly hair, depicted with vibrant, multi-colored abstract splashes and geometric patterns, highlighting her face and piercing eyes.

HYPERALLERGIC

Meta Quest logo with a stylized blue infinity symbol and the words 'Meta Quest' in black and gray text.

Below is a full play through video. Immersive film is best accessed on a Meta Quest headset. Click above to view on the Meta Quest Store where it can be downloaded.