Sindha Agha's Birth Control Your Own Adventure, a hybrid personal documentary about systemic sexism in reproductive healthcare, is a sparklingly cutting film featuring a cast of sinister Icelandic sheep, clumsy endives and an OB-GYN who talks with the voice of a robot. Posted as an Op-Doc for the New York Times, the film paints an inventive self-portrait of a person forced to choose between depression and physical pain in the face of inadequate reproductive healthcare options.

While scripted & told in a narrative style, this is a non-fiction, autobiographical account that parcels pain within humor. I use stop motion, still life, and pastels to palatably visualize intense physical & psychological experiences.Birth control side effects are increasingly in the news cycle – widely covered studies have recently shown a 40% increased risk of depression among all hormonal birth control users, a tripling of suicide risk, and a 38% increased risk of breast cancer.My goal for this short doc is to personalize these statistics, foster dialogue about mental & reproductive health, and help other women think more critically about their own experiences with birth control.