Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3)
Navya: Turning a First Period Story Into a Film of Confidence
See how Garage Collective created a hand-drawn animated film for C3's Navya initiative, using human-centred storytelling to build awareness around first-period preparedness.
The Numbers That Matter
The Challenge
For many young girls, their first period can arrive with confusion, fear and misinformation. Limited access to accurate information and the stigma surrounding menstruation can make an important life milestone feel overwhelming rather than empowering. Through Navya, Centre for Catalyzing Change wanted to help young menstruators experience this transition with greater safety, information and confidence. Our challenge was to translate this sensitive and deeply personal subject into an animated film that could do more than simply explain the issue. It needed to build empathy, reflect the emotions of a first-time menstruator authentically and demonstrate how access to the right support could change her first-period experience. The film had to be informative without becoming instructional, emotional without becoming distressing, and powerful enough to move viewers from awareness towards action.
^ the "houston, we have a problem" moment
Our Approach
^ step by step, no shortcuts
Instead of approaching menstruation through facts alone, we built the narrative around the emotions a young girl might experience during her first period: confusion, curiosity, uncertainty and eventually relief.
The film was structured as a human-centred narrative, allowing viewers to experience the situation from the perspective of a first-time menstruator rather than simply being told about the problem.
Each scene was carefully planned before animation began, ensuring the story remained sensitive, clear and emotionally impactful throughout.
Every frame was hand-drawn to give the film warmth, authenticity and a distinctly human quality suited to the subject.
Frames were stitched together into a continuous visual flow, avoiding abrupt transitions and creating an evolving journey that mirrored the experience of moving through an unfamiliar life stage.
The film introduced the role of the Navya Kit organically within the narrative, showing how access to menstrual hygiene essentials and reliable information can replace uncertainty with confidence.
Garage Collective created a purpose-led animated film for Navya, an initiative by Centre for Catalyzing Change designed to support young menstruators through their first period. Rather than treating the subject as an awareness message alone, we developed the film as an emotional story. The narrative followed the emotional journey surrounding a first menstruation, capturing the uncertainty that can accompany the experience and gradually introducing reassurance, knowledge and support. The entire film was meticulously developed from the ground up. Every scene was storyboarded, every frame was hand-sketched and the animation was designed to move in a seamless continuous flow. This visual treatment allowed us to communicate a sensitive issue without making the storytelling clinical or overwhelming. The hand-drawn aesthetic brought warmth and relatability to the film, while the narrative helped audiences understand the tangible difference that the right information and menstrual hygiene support can make. The result was a film that did not simply talk about menstrual awareness. It gave the audience an emotional window into what a safer, better-informed and more confident first-period experience could look like.
^ that's the big brain move
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