NYWIFT Blog

By Linden Standish

Welcome to NYWIFT, Bonnie Gross!

Bonnie Gross is a multi-faceted filmmaker whose dynamic expertise has led to an acclaimed career in writing, producing, and post-production. 

Bonnie draws from personal experience and her natural aptitude for comedy writing to create narratives that are at once clever, boundary-pushing, and relatable. 

Her newest autobiographical film, Lady Parts – which has won numerous international awards – exemplifies her experience and talent. It is also a reflection of her mission to spread awareness for women living with vulvovaginal and pelvic pain, an experience that Bonnie personally lived through.

Based in New York City, Bonnie co-owns the NYC boutique finishing house Brainwomb and has worked on numerous media projects, television shows and films.

 

Could you give our readers a brief introduction to yourself?

I’m an award-winning comedy writer, producer, and post-production pro who’s never met a taboo topic I couldn’t turn into a smart, comical, and relatable story. I have a passion for telling authentic stories that focus on the realities of living with chronic vulvovaginal and pelvic pain, which I know deserve far more screen time.

Originally from Philadelphia and now based in New York City, I earned a B.A. in Media Production from the University of Alabama and completed the UCLA Professional Program in TV Comedy Writing in 2018. My most recent film Lady Parts is an autobiographical comedy inspired by my own experience navigating the vulvovaginal health care world, which earned the Special Jury Award for Screenwriting at the Florida Film Festival and the Jury Award for Best Comedy Feature at the Austin Film Festival. 

I have worked for several years in post-production at Encore Hollywood and Light Iron, working on an array of television shows and films. I now co-own Brainwomb, a boutique finishing house in NYC where I partner with filmmakers to shape their stories at every stage of the post-production process

I have also written, produced, and edited comedic content for the media brand It’s a Southern Thing, and regularly create my own offbeat comedy videos for social media. In addition to my creative work, I serve as the social media manager and a campaign team volunteer for Tight Lipped, a grassroots advocacy organization by and for people with chronic vulvovaginal and pelvic pain.

I’m an insane Philadelphia Eagles fan, a dog lover, and traveled to over 25 countries and counting! 

At the heart of my work is a simple goal: to make people feel seen, understood, and maybe laugh at a speculum joke along the way.

 

 

What brought you to NYWIFT?

I’ve worked in post-production for over 10 years, and early on I became very aware of how male-dominated the industry could be. One of my first jobs was as a night coordinator at a post facility where, during my shift, I was the only woman among about 20 men. The funny part is that it wasn’t until I pointed it out that anyone even realized it.

While the industry has made strides, film and TV have long felt like a bit of a boys’ club. I’ve always wanted to do my part to change that. Media shapes society, but media is shaped by the people creating it. If women aren’t at the center of that process – from writers and directors to editors and producers – then we’re never going to see fully authentic representations of women on screen.

That gap felt especially personal to me. Growing up with chronic vulvovaginal and pelvic pain disorders, I never saw my experience reflected in film or television. It made it very clear that many women’s stories simply weren’t being told.

And while I’m a white woman who holds a lot of privilege, I’m also very aware that these barriers are even greater for BIPOC creators and storytellers. There are countless perspectives that still struggle to reach the screen.

When I crewed up my first feature, Lady Parts, I made it a priority to hire women in as many leadership roles as possible. I’m proud to say the film had women serving as writer, director, producer, executive producer, cinematographer, costume designer, editor, composer, and colorist. The set was collaborative, communicative, and incredibly creative – it proved how powerful these opportunities can be.

Joining New York Women in Film & Television felt like a natural next step. As I launch my own finishing company, continue producing, and begin writing my next feature, being part of a community of supportive, talented women feels essential to moving this work forward.

 

 

What has your experience been with incorporating taboo themes of women’s health into your projects? Have you encountered unexpected hurdles or reactions?

My experience with taboo themes in women’s health is, unfortunately, very personal. The story really began when I was 13 and too embarrassed to tell anyone that using tampons hurt. I assumed the pain was normal, so I just powered through it every month.

As I got older, the pain spread to just about everything from tight pants, riding a bike, pap smears, and of course sex. It felt taboo and shameful, so I did what many people do: smiled and pretended everything was fine while it felt like a hot knife stabbing me.

When I finally sought medical help, I ran into years of dismissal. Doctors told me the pain was normal or “in my head.” One even suggested drinking before sex while I was underage. After years of bouncing from doctor to doctor, I finally found a specialist in New York who diagnosed my vestibulodynia and vaginismus, or pelvic floor dysfunction. Right after college I had a vestibulectomy surgery and spent a year recovering with pelvic floor physical therapy.

The wild part is that 1 in 4 people with vaginas experience chronic vulvovaginal pain, yet it’s rarely discussed. We live in a society where even saying “vagina” can feel taboo.

At first, Lady Parts was just a blog post I wrote after surgery. People immediately reached out saying, “This is exactly what I’m dealing with,” or “My friend has this – can they talk to you?” That was the first moment I realized this wasn’t just my story.

I spent years pitching the project, but it seemed no one was ready to tackle a film about vaginal pain (shocking!). Eventually I got tired of waiting for permission or funding. If there’s no seat at the table, you bring a folding chair. So I emptied my life savings, started an LLC, and self-produced the film. With an incredible group of friends and collaborators, we shot in summer 2022 and finished post in 2023.

The reaction has been the biggest surprise. Festivals, especially in the South, where we expected pushback, sold out screenings with audiences eager for the conversation. One father came reluctantly, assuming the film wasn’t for him, and afterward thanked us because it helped him feel comfortable talking to his 9-year-old daughter about sexual health.

Of course, the hurdles were real. I usually say there were three phases. First was accepting that my very personal medical trauma was no longer private and is now searchable on the internet forever (yes dating the past years has been so fun with this as the first search). Second was reliving parts of it on set. One scene mirrored a moment from my own childhood so closely that I had to step out after the second take because it hit me so deeply. And the final hurdle was releasing the film into the world and realizing the story no longer belonged just to me – it belonged to everyone who saw themselves in it.

That’s the beauty of storytelling. It takes a huge, complicated health issue and makes it human and relatable instead of just a depressing list of medical statistics. Watching audiences feel seen for the first time makes the long days, sleepless nights, and frankly alarming credit card debt worth it.

And honestly, there’s something incredibly cathartic about laughing at your own trauma. Writing and making projects like this is part of how I’ve healed and how I stay sane in a chaotic world.

 

 

Tell us about Brainwomb. What was your motivation to create the business?

Ever wonder what happens between the locked cut and final delivery to places like Netflix, HBO, and Hulu? That would be the finishing!

We like to call ourselves the unsung heroes of post-production. 

Finishing is the final stage of post-production that polishes a project into its final professional and creative state by making final adjustments to visual and audio elements, adding titles and credits, and creating the final deliverable versions

For Brainwomb, this encompasses everything from conform, color, VFX work, and beauty enhancements. Basically, we do everything in between that is needed to give your project its final polish before the world sees it. 

Yes, finishing can seem very broad, but in essence we are the final step in the post-production process to get you everything needed for the best quality of your vision to screen. We put all the pieces of the puzzle together with your masterpiece and love getting to see a vision come to life. 

The idea for Brainwomb grew out of my time working as a producer at Light Iron, a Panavision company, where I worked on films like Babes, Ben & Suzanne: A Reunion in 4 Parts, and A Family Affair. That’s also where I met my now business partner, Keith Jenson.

From the start, we shared the same mindset: every project deserves the same level of care, whether it’s a short film, a scrappy indie, or a studio release. We also bonded over a love of creative problem-solving and figuring out smart, inventive ways to elevate a project no matter the budget or constraints.

That shared approach eventually led us to co-found Brainwomb, a boutique finishing company in New York City.

Our mission is simple: help filmmakers of all budgets and backgrounds bring their stories to life. Whether it’s a festival-bound feature, a documentary, or a passion project, we bring the experience and attention to detail needed to help filmmakers confidently cross the finish line.

 

 

Having won numerous awards and contributed to a vast catalog of work, what has been the most meaningful moment of your career thus far?

The most meaningful moment of my career so far has been screening Lady Parts at the Austin Film Festival. Never in a million years did I think a comedy about vulvas and family would make a splash on the festival circuit – let alone win the Jury Award for Best Comedy Vanguard Feature in 2024.

What made it even more meaningful is that my relationship with Austin actually started years earlier. In 2018, I submitted Lady Parts to the Austin Film Festival competition when it was still a TV pilot, and plot twist – it didn’t get in. Instead, they sent thoughtful feedback suggesting I rework the script into an indie feature and focus more on the relationship with the parents.

I really took that note to heart. In 2020, when I finally decided to bite the bullet and make the project myself, I reworked the pilot into what became the full-length feature. So premiering the finished film at Austin years later felt like a true full-circle moment and proof that the best writing is rewriting. 

As a total writing nerd and indie film lover, being there felt surreal. Attending the writers’ conference and sitting in on panels was already a dream, but things got even wilder when I was invited to give a 60-second pitch right before a panel for The Simpsons with showrunner Matt Selman. So there I was, on stage in front of 100+ people – and Matt Selman – pitching a story about my vulvovaginal pain. And yes… my parents were in the audience, front row.

While I was proud of the pitch, what meant even more was realizing how far I’d come. Long before the awards ceremony, just having the confidence to stand on that stage, share my story, and truly believe in it felt like the real win.

After earning a degree in Media Production, what compelled you to pursue the path of comedy writing? 

I think I was always a comedy writer – I just didn’t realize it at the time. Some of my earliest school assignments included pieces like “The Story of Paul Revere from the Horse’s Perspective” and “T-Shirt Cannon at the Britney Spears Concert.” Looking back, it’s pretty clear I was happiest when I was writing something a little weird and a little funny.

Like many people, I process difficult experiences through humor. Comedy has always felt like a universal tool for taking something painful and making it a little more digestible. As I got older, I realized that humor kept finding its way into everything I wrote. It became a cathartic part of the process.

You see that balance in so many great works, even in Shakespeare, where tragedy and comedy exist side by side. For me, the most interesting moments are when those lines blur and both are happening at once.

Comedy became the storytelling tool that lets me explore difficult or taboo topics while still keeping audiences engaged. It allows you to make a point, start a conversation, and maybe even help someone feel a little less alone.

At the end of the day, comedy helps me heal, and storytelling helps me heal – so comedy writing felt like the natural way to bring the two together.

 

 

Are there any personal projects you’re currently working on, or hope to work on in the future?

Lady Parts just launched its 2026 theatrical run with the Lady Parts Road Show. Over the next few months, we will be hosting community screenings across the country, featuring expert sexual health panels, filmmaker Q&As, and special events in partnership with local communities. We will be bringing women’s health conversations to the big screen in a fun, engaging, and educational way. Be on the lookout for more dates announcing soon along with streaming information as well. Information on screenings and events can be found here: https://linktr.ee/ladypartsfilm 

My next feature will likely continue what I jokingly call my “vulvovaginal and pelvic pain brand.” I’m drawn to telling deeply personal stories that also open up conversations about women’s health.

The tentative title is The Woman in the Wallpaper, loosely inspired by The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Much like that story, and works like The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, the film explores how women’s medical concerns have historically been dismissed as hysteria.

Although “hysteria” was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980, its legacy still lingers in modern medicine. For example, about 75% of women in the U.S. will experience a yeast infection, leading to roughly 1.5 million medical visits each year, yet there haven’t been major new treatments developed in over 50 years.

The project is also rooted in my own experience. I dealt with a chronic yeast infection for nearly three years, and when Fluconazole (the leading antifungal treatment) failed, I found myself stuck in a frustrating cycle where doctors and partners insisted nothing was wrong. It was isolating and, at times, made me feel like I was losing my mind.

Through this film, I hope to explore how those historic narratives around women’s “hysteria” still echo today, using dark humor and personal storytelling to make a complicated and often overlooked health issue more visible and a little less lonely.

 

Connect with Bonnie Gross on Instagram at @shake_ur_bonbon, on her website www.bonnie-gross.com, and check out the latest on her film Lady Parts @ladyparts_film and www.ladypartsfilm.com. To learn more about her finishing house, visit @brainwomb or www.brainwomb.com.

(All photos courtesy of Bonnie Gross)