EXCLUSIVE: The first project out of the Docs For Change Project will be The Pink Pill, a feature about the search for a ‘female viagra.’
Aisling Chin-Yee, whose debut feature documentary No Ordinary Man premiered to at the Toronto International Film Festival, will direct the film. Abby Greensfelder’s Everywoman Studios is producing alongside Sphere Abacus, which is also distributing the doc globally.
The film, billed by producers as “a wildly entertaining romp into the world of sex and science,” takes a deep dive into the taboo topic of women’s sexual health. It follows the trailblazers and detractors attached to the quest to find a solution for women wanting libido support, or a “little pink pill” similar to the viagra men take to combat erectile dysfunction. The doc will explore the numerous roadblocks in the way of a breakthrough, in an industry with several FDA-approved drugs for men’s sexual pleasure and almost nothing for women.
Chin-Yee said: “Right now, more than ever, women and gender-diverse folks need to control the narrative about our bodies. Sexual health and desire should not be an embarrassing topic, so we’re hoping this documentary ignites a much-needed conversation.”
The doc marks the first from the Docs For Change Project, which was created by Toronto-based Catalyst and giving program Knix Fund. The initiative, unveiled the 2023 Banff World Media Festival, backs and produces women-centric feature documentaries that embody the principles of creating more opportunity for women by amplifying their voices and inspiring change.
Catalyst founder Julie Bristow, who also runs production house Bristow Global Media, said: “It would be difficult to design a project better aligned with Docs For Change’s mission and ambition than The Pink Pill. It’s a brilliant David-and-Goliath story — told by women — about women’s access to the healthcare they want and need.
“Although the doc looks at the story of a so-called ‘female viagra,’ it tells a much larger story about women’s healthcare and why it still isn’t given the same attention, funding and status as men’s. We were so impressed with the quality of the pitches that came into Docs For Change that we’ll be looking to develop additional projects in the coming months.”
Joanna Griffiths, founder and president of Knix, added that she “felt strongly that shedding a light on this subject would help us make a lasting impact on some of the overlooked issues affecting women’s sexual health and spark much-needed conversations.”
“This story also hit close to home for me as it reveals what female founders are up against when creating women’s health focused companies,” she said.
Griffiths and Bristow worked together in the early 2000s at Canadian pubcaster the CBC. The pair collectively and separately invest in early-stage companies led by females. Bristow’s Catalyst is currently in post-production on Paid in Full, a three-part docuseries for BBC and CBC with Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures, Zinc Media and Sphere Abacus; and recently worked with with Blue Ant Media to produce and distribute the factual comedy hit I Have Nothing for Crave in Canada.
Griffiths holds the Canadian record for the largest publicly disclosed sale of a private company by a solo female founder. This occurred when Swedish health and hygiene Giant Essity purchased 80% of Knix in 2022. She also sits on the Toronto International Film Festival board.
Chin-Yee won a Directors Guild of Canada award for CBC mini-series Plan B. Her feature film directorial debut, The Rest of Us, starring Heather Graham, Sophie Nélisse and Jodi Balfour premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
Greensfelder is a former Discovery exec and co-founder of Say Yes to the Dress maker Half-Yard Productions who launched Everywoman Studios in 2019 as a full-services studios to address the gender gap in the entertainment ecosystem. Its first doc, LFG was for HBO Max and CNN Films and chronicled the U.S. women’s national soccer team’s fight for equal pay. Her most recent film, Uncharted, which follows Alicia Keys’ ‘She Is The Music’ program, premiered at Tribeca in 2023. Greensfelder also founded and runs Propelle, an accelerator programme for female creators, in partnership with docs publication and events biz Realscreen.
“For centuries, women have suffered in silence, their health and sexual experiences overlooked and understudied,” said Greensfelder. “Now, for the first time, a new generation of women doctors, innovators and influencers are speaking up. Menopause and women’s health are having a moment. The Pink Pill can be that loud, buzzy rallying cry to inspire change.”
For Sphere Abacus, the doc is one of the most notable launched since Canada’s Sphere Media bought UK-based distributor Abacus Media Rights and rebranded. Its shows include CBC and HBO comedy Sort Of, CTV and BBC crime drama Cardinal nd NBC and CTV medical soap Transplant, along with docs such as documentaries Storm the Skies 911 and 100 Days to Victory for the BBC). Soon to launch theatrically is feature doc, Monkey on A Stick: Murder, Madness and the Hare Krishnas.