A woman’s breasts are the most public of her private parts, and filmmaker Meema Spadola makes them even more public with her 60-minute documentary, “Breasts,” which had its first screening Sunday at the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville.

In this candid video, more than 20 women ages 6 to 84 talk about their feelings and experiences regarding their breasts. Some of them have two breasts. Some of them have new breasts. One has no breasts. They hate their breasts, they love them, they want them to be bigger, smaller, whistled at, ignored. Any way you look at them — and you do a lot in this film because most interviewees are naked from the waist up — the breasts in this film are a potent symbol of the role of women in American society.

Spadola’s unifying comment about breasts is that each set is different from the next and that formative experiences — most during childhood — are major influences on how each woman views her breasts. For some, belonging to the “itty bitty titty committee” is a good thing. For others, it is horrifying.

The range of responses to breasts covers implants, explants (implant removal), mastectomies, nursing, buying bras and sexual objectification. One woman confesses that her husband didn’t want her entire breasts filmed because they would then go from being exclusively his to being all of America’s. A stripper talks about her breasts as “tools” of her trade. A transsexual talks about hers as the best thing that ever happened to her. A modern dancer talks about going to the doctor for strep throat, and getting a breast exam to boot. Some of the admissions are shocking. Others are empowering.

Spadola, who was raised in Searsmont, lets “breast humor” find its way into her directing, too. One woman places a pencil under her breast to see if it will stick (which is bad) or fall (which is good). She fails the “pencil test” but, as with many of the women in this film, is able to laugh at herself.

Overall, however, Spadola has a serious intention. By engaging in this “girl talk,” she validates what every woman knows: Breasts are powerful and confusing.

After the show, Spadola talked about making the film in New York City with an all-female crew. She wanted to defuse the cultural fixation on breasts and explore issues of womanhood through the theme of breasts, she said. Sometimes Spadola is slightly too tidy, and even at the most troubling moments, the film manages to stay upbeat.

But there’s no question about the importance of this film because it exposes the mixed message of the valuing and devaluing of women’s bodies.

“Breasts” was shown on Cinemax and Spadola is now writing a book based on the film. Watch for her name again next year when her film on penises shows up on HBO. No joke.