Up to 16% of women in the U.S. experience Vulvodynia, a condition that is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. For filmmaker Bonnie Gross, that statistic is not abstract, it is personal.
“Making Lady Parts felt like just what I had to do,” Gross said. “When I was going through this experience, it was completely isolating. I thought, ‘Oh my god, it is just happening to me.’”
That isolation is what she set out to challenge in Lady Parts, a dramedy inspired by her own experience navigating chronic vulvar pain and surgery.
As Gross began speaking more openly, she realized she was not alone.
“I started to put some stuff out there and started getting all this feedback from people saying, ‘Wow, this is actually happening to me. I know somebody who has this or I know somebody struggling with this.’”
The film uses humor to approach a subject that is often difficult to talk about.
“I think humor was what really made the story what it is,” Gross said. “For a situation that can be uncomfortable for most people to talk about, it is a great way to dip your toes in the water. But also it is life. You cannot have tragedy without comedy, comedy without tragedy. The best moments live in that in-between.”
Audience members said the film was both emotionally engaging and informative, with many connecting to its portrayal of delayed diagnoses and medical dismissal.
“I certainly did not expect to be laughing and almost crying,” one attendee said. “It felt so real.”
Another added, “What I loved was her journey from painful symptoms to seeing doctors, being dismissed, and eventually reaching surgery. It made everything feel very human.”
Gross said the decade-long process of bringing the film to life reflects how difficult it can be to tell stories like this.
“It took 10 years to make,” she said. “From writing in 2017, to filming in 2022, to festivals in 2024, and distribution in 2026. I do not think people understand how hard it is to make an independent film.”
For Gross, the goal is not just storytelling, but shifting culture.
“This is just the start of shifting the narrative,” she said.
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