Tiger Stripes
Malaysia
Amanda Nell Eu
12-year-old Zaffan starts to experience horrifying, physical changes to her body. Struggling to maintain being normal at school, Zaffan is in denial of her inevitable changes and tries to cover her grotesque self.
Her body however reaches a state where she is no longer able to hide it, and she is humiliated in front of her whole class. Zaffan’s friends turn against her and attack her, when all hysteria breaks loose – one by one teenage girls drop to the floors in fits, turning it into an epidemic spread of mass hysteria across the school.
Rumours about Zaffan’s monstrous transformation have made everyone fear her. As an attempt to drive away the demon inside, Zaffan is forced into an exorcism using extreme methods of shame and torture.
And like a tiger who has been dragged out of its habitat and poked because we fear it, because we don’t know it, Zaffan finally stands up and decides to reveal what she has been hiding – her true self, her wrath, rage and her beauty, to everyone.
Her body however reaches a state where she is no longer able to hide it, and she is humiliated in front of her whole class. Zaffan’s friends turn against her and attack her, when all hysteria breaks loose – one by one teenage girls drop to the floors in fits, turning it into an epidemic spread of mass hysteria across the school.
Rumours about Zaffan’s monstrous transformation have made everyone fear her. As an attempt to drive away the demon inside, Zaffan is forced into an exorcism using extreme methods of shame and torture.
And like a tiger who has been dragged out of its habitat and poked because we fear it, because we don’t know it, Zaffan finally stands up and decides to reveal what she has been hiding – her true self, her wrath, rage and her beauty, to everyone.
Support:
Festivals and Awards:
Cannes 2023, Semaine de la Critique: Grand Prix