Groundbreaking menopause doco The (M) Factor coming to Illawarra for International Women's Day

A groundbreaking new documentary “shredding” the silence around menopause, and captivating sold-out audiences across Australia and the world, is set to screen in Warrawong as part of International Women’s Day.

The (M) Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause has sparked a global movement, with its only Illawarra screening to be at the Gala Cinema in Warrawong on 13 March, followed by a Q&A panel of Illawarra experts.

St Mary’s College dean of wellbeing Emma Magill was inspired to organise the event after a personal journey through perimenopause and recognising the widespread misinformation and stigma surrounding what is a natural life transition.

“It was in my head to hold the screening because I’ve become a bit of a dog with a bone in the past 18 months,” Emma said.

“I’m aware of the need to increase awareness and education in this space, from my own experience and the experiences of my peers and work colleagues.

“The conversations I’ve had with my peers just continue to confirm with me the importance of this topic.”

However, it was learning that big names from the documentary would be attending an already sold-out Sydney screening in March, and that it had strong support worldwide, that prompted her to host one in the Illawarra.

The “eye-opening” US documentary explores the hidden impact of menopause on women’s lives, empowers women to make informed health decisions and aims to remove the stigma surrounding menopause and ageing.

It shares how menopause has ramifications beyond just an individual woman’s wellbeing, with untreated menopause leading to billions of dollars in lost wages, upended careers, family disruptions, and emotional chaos.

“It’s an opportunity to hear from global, leading experts in the field to dispel some of the myths and misinformation with really relevant and accessible evidence-based information,” Emma said.

“There’s one woman who just speaks about how I’m not a cranky person, but I was cranky all the time.

“So there’s some points where people can probably really see themselves in the stories that are told, and realise how much disruption this can cause.

“There is a hopefulness that I feel the audience will be able to leave with, that there are like-minded people, that there are others in this space, and there’s an explanation for what is happening.

“We are not going crazy. We’re not losing our minds.”

Emma said the screening would be followed by discussion by a panel of Illawarra experts, including integrative GP Dr Charlotte Middleton; nutritionist, accredited diabetes educator and pharmacist Karina Bronska; and psychologist Amanda MacKay.

“This is a way for people who may feel overwhelmed with knowledge to come for an evening with friends and like-minded souls and to say, OK, I just need it in a bite-sized piece,” she said.

“Then you can decide how much more you need to know.”

She said having turned 50 last year, she had been experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms that didn’t make sense to her but were later attributed to perimenopause.

“So it’s not all just the hot flushes and inconsistent periods, even though that’s what everyone looks for,” she said.

“There just isn’t a lot of education.”

Emma said it contrasted her day job, where she often worked with girls about the renovation that happens in the teenage brain during adolescence, which there was much research on.

She said with some similarities between the two stages in life, she often also touched on menopause with students to allow them to better understand other women in their lives.

“This is stuff that sadly and realistically can lead to the ends of marriages and ends of relationships, and I can appreciate that if people aren’t understanding,” Emma said.

She said the audience for the film would be wide-ranging, from women as young as 35 experiencing perimenopause through to women who felt they were “past all that”, and even loved ones who wanted to better understand their partner.

She said topics would range from hormone replacement therapy (HRT) through to increasing research revealing invisible symptoms postmenopausal women could be subject to, such as frailty, dementia, and bone and heart problems.

To describe menopause, she used the analogy of a rollercoaster.

“You start off going straight and you know something’s coming, but you’re like, ‘This is going to be fun’ and then it’s sheer terror, and then that exhilaration at the end of a ride,” she said.

The (M) Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause will screen at Gala Cinema, Warrawong, on 13 March from 6:30 pm. Tickets are $15 through Eventbrite, or learn more on Instagram.