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09-05-2023
KUALA LUMPUR: For 12-year-old Zaffan (played by Zafreen Zairizal), going through puberty is literally a beast. When she discovers that her body is morphing in terrifying ways and her community sidelines her, Zaffan has no choice but to accept her true self, revealing her beauty, wrath and power to everyone
Amanda Nell Eu is reluctant to reveal too much of the plot of Tiger Stripes, but her debut feature mixes teenage body horror, and themes of female empowerment in a Southeast Asian setting and will make history this month as the first film directed by a Malaysian woman to debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
Tiger Stripes is the fourth Malaysian film and the first in 13 years, to be invited to Cannes after Kaki Bakar (The Arsonist, 1995) by U-Wei Saari, Karaoke (2009) by Chris Chong Chan Fui and The Tiger Factory (2010) by Woo Ming Jin.
It will compete for the Grand Prix at the 62nd Semaine de la Critique (International Critics Week), which will run from May 17 to 25 and is the program dedicated to discovering first and second-feature filmmakers from around the world. It is where acclaimed directors like Wong Kar-wai, Guillermo Del Toro, Ken Loach and Gaspar Noe all started.
“I’m so honored. It’s what the team and I have been dreaming of. I don’t think anyone will be ready for it because it’s a real punch in the face,” Nell Eu, who is a Malaysian of mixed Chinese and British heritage, told media.
“Jokes aside, I hope Tiger Stripes’ themes and messages will resonate with many people and they will also enjoy the ride the film takes you on.”
Nell Eu had the idea for Tiger Stripes at the beginning of 2018 and did much of the development work over the following two years. “We did a lot of labs and workshops and then ended up going to international markets as well,” she said.
After the COVID-19 pandemic halted work on the project for about two years, the crew finally shot the film in 2022 in the wilds of Selangor state, east of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur. It stars veteran Malaysian actors Shaheizy Sam (Polis Evo 3, 2023), June Lojong (Roh, 2019), and Fatimah Abu Bakar (Imaginur, 2022), plus a trio of young and talented first-time actresses Zafreen, Deena Ezral and Piqa, who play the three Malay girls from a rural community. (Int’l News Desk)
