PELO MALO - BAD HAIR

Junior is nine and lives with his mother Marta and his little brother in a housing block in Caracas. For his school yearbook photo he wants straight hair, like a pop singer, and tries everything that might tame his curls: oil, mayonnaise, the hairdryer. Marta, who has lost her job as a security guard and fights for every bit of work, sees more than a hairstyle in this. She begins to fear her son might be gay, and pushes back against what she does not understand in him, with a harshness that hurts the boy and herself alike. In “Pelo malo” (Venezuela, 2013), Mariana Rondón tells of a child who invents himself, and a mother who will not allow it.

Rondón shoots in the social housing of Caracas, with non-professional actors and a gaze that neither accuses nor flatters; the film’s humour is as casual as its harshness. “Pelo malo” won the Golden Shell in San Sebastián in 2013, the first Venezuelan film ever to do so; further awards followed in Thessaloniki, Mar del Plata and Turin. The film was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2014.

Shown at the 2014 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2014 · Film Archive