TIGER STRIPES

Zaffan is twelve, outspoken – and the first in her class to get her period. Now she becomes a target, even for her friends Mariam and Farah. Her body keeps changing, differently from the others: skin, nails, and in the jungle a creature from local folklore appears to her. The school panics and calls in a faith healer, who tries to force out by violence what she has become. She must choose: bow to the shame or accept the monstrous within her. “Tiger Stripes” by Amanda Nell Eu, a Malaysian film from 2023, turns puberty into a body-horror film with wit.

The Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu co-produced her feature debut with seven countries, including France and Germany; Zafreen Zairizal plays Zaffan. The film mixes genres and takes the side of a society that shames girls. It premiered in 2023 in the Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, where it became the first Malaysian film to win the top prize; Malaysia submitted it for the Oscars but showed it in cinemas only in a censored version, from which the director distanced herself. It was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2023 in the Berlinale World Cinema Fund section.

Shown at the 2023 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2023 · Film Archive