Cannes 2023: Malaysian film ‘Tiger Stripes’ wins Critics’ Week
This year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival is finally underway in full force, with new films by renowned auteurs like Martin Scorsese and Hirokazu Koreeda capturing the entire world’s attention. However, the festival is also known for championing the works of emerging filmmakers, and one such figure is Amanda Nell Eu, whose latest project was awarded the coveted ‘Best Feature’ prize during Critics’ Week.
Titled Tiger Stripes, the Malaysian coming-of-age horror film is a fascinating mixture of various genre frameworks. It tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who finds herself in an awkward position when she realises that she is the first girl in her class to get her period. To complicate things, she discovers that other terrifying changes are taking hold of her body, forcing her to confront society’s warped perception of herself.
During an interview with NME, Amanda Nell Eu said: “In Malaysia, I grew up with all kinds of old wives’ tales – like, ‘don’t open your umbrella indoors or you’ll let out the spirits!’ – and stories about the pontianak. As a kid, I loved these stories, and so horror became a door to cinema for me. I fell in love with horror, and then I fell in love with cinema.”
The filmmaker added: “Every character I create is me. The starting point was personal; dealing with my personal feelings and insecurities about growing up as a young girl, going through puberty. As I was researching the film and as I was meeting and getting to know our cast of young girls, talking to them about these themes, I’m finding that it’s all still the same, you know. That was really how the film evolved; at the end of the day, we all still feel the same way about these things, whether it’s bullying, friendship, insecurities with our bodies. Nothing’s changed.”
Watch the trailer below.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.