Synopsis

The first amongst her friends to hit puberty, Zaffan, 12, discovers a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracised by her community, Zaffan fights back, learning that to be free she must embrace the body she feared, emerging as a proud, strong woman.

Curators’ note

Director’s bio

Amanda Nell Eu, born in Malaysia, is a Chinese-Malaysian female director and screenwriter. In 2017, she directed her debut short film Sekandang Lembu, which was shortlisted for the Best Short Film Award at the 74th Venice International Film Festival Horizons section. In 2018, she directed the narrative short film Vinegar Baths. In 2023, she directed the horror film Tiger Stripes, which won the Best Film in the Cannes Critics’ Week 2023.

Director‘s statement

Myths and Folktales in Malaysia never entirely remain in the story world; the monsters, spirits and ghosts are very much a reality, surrounding our everyday lives with superstition. These cautionary tales were told to me as a child, inflicting fear and fascination on my imagination. Returning to these folktales as an adult however, I realised that most of these villains, these monsters, were women. These monstrous women were tales of outcasts — apparently grotesque women with intuition, ugly women with goals and hideous women who knew what they craved for. These characters were far from the socially accepted concept of an ‘ideal’ woman. Instead, they were aggressive and strong in their own ways, labelled to be unnatural, to be monsters. But these were characters that I could relate to and women that I found respect for, because I too am a large, ugly and frightening creature. There are so many powerful structures in a young girl’s life that govern and suppress what every woman essentially has in her, this wild nature. Yet, this intuitive and fierce individual must be found once again and celebrated. She can take up any form; she is both beautiful and ugly, frightening and reassuring. She an be woman or man, but most importantly, she is a wild beast. This story is a parable about the struggle to reveal your wild nature, individuality and independence and to embrace the strength that it gives you. Zaffan is experiencing something in herself that is inherently who she is and something she cannot change. Her journey is how her community perceives her and the choices she has to make to either stay hidden in fear and shame or express her own power and freedom.

Festival & Awards

2023

Grand Prize in Cannes Critics’ Week 2023

Casts

Zafreen Zairizal, Deena Ezral, Piqa

Credits

Scriptwriter: Amanda Nell Eu

Music: Gabber Operandi

Cinematography: Jimmy Gimferrer

Production Designer: Sharon Chin

Editor: Carlo Francisco, Manatad