Tiger Stripes (film)

Tiger Stripes
Promotional release poster
Directed byAmanda Nell Eu
Written byAmanda Nell Eu
Produced by
Starring
  • Zafreen Zairizal
  • Deena Ezral
  • Piqa
  • Shaheizy Sam
  • June Lojong
  • Khairunazwan Rodz
  • Fatimah Abu Bakar
CinematographyJimmy Gimferrer
Edited byCarlo Francisco Manatad
Music byGabber Modus Operandi
Production
company
Ghost Grrrl Pictures
Release date
  • 17 May 2023 (2023-05-17) (Cannes)
Running time
95 minutes
Countries
  • Malaysia
  • Taiwan
  • Singapore
  • France
  • Germany
  • Netherlands
  • Indonesia
  • Qatar
LanguageMalay
Budget€834,000[1]
Box office€29,200

Tiger Stripes is a 2023 independent body horror[2] film written and directed by Amanda Nell Eu in her directorial debut, starring Zafreen Zarizai, Deena Ezral and Piqa with Shaheizy Sam, June Lojong, Khairunazwan Rodz and Fatimah Abu Bakar in supporting roles. The film's plot follows an 12-year-old Zaffan whose body begins to undergo unsettling changes upon hitting puberty.

Tiger Stripes had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2023 where it won the Critics' Week Grand Prize. An international co-production of eight countries including Malaysia, the film was selected as the Malaysian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.[3] The film was released in Malaysia censored, and the director has disowned the censored version of the film.[4]

Plot

All-girls' elementary school student Nur Zaffan binti Azman starts developing mature interests, such as doing suggestive dances in the bathroom and wearing a bra, accompanied by fellow students Mariam and prefect Farah binti Muhamad Zaid. Zaffan is exposed when teacher Azizah forces her to open the bathroom door and is thus admonished by headteacher Sabariah. Zaffan plays at a stream in a jungle with Farah and Mariam and is chased out of her house by her overbearing mother Munah for returning in underwear as she had wet her uniform. One night, Zaffan begins her menarche while sleeping.

Zaffan's menstruation prevents her from attending mandatory prayers; Farah warns her about the legend of Ina, a pink-eyed demonic woman who became feral and lived in the jungle due to her period. Zaffan later witnesses the Ina, whom the others could not see, on top of a tree, which Farah ridicules her for. The next day, Zaffan menstruates again in class, entering puberty as she develops acne and begins shedding her nails, forcing her to wear gloves.

After Mariam turns down Zaffan's offer to walk home with her, Zaffan, inspired, requests her father Azman to let her join the Girl Guides for a school program. Zaffan witnesses the Ina again one night at camp, and the next day, she rescues a student, Liyana, who hid on top of a tree to avoid being bullied by the seniors, earning a badge during the exam results announcement ceremony. Farah grows jealous at Zaffan as a result, believing she is trying to emulate her. Zaffan comes in conflict with Munah again for deciding to wear gloves even at home.

Zaffan gains the ability to transform into a weretiger-like beast when angry, killing a frog with her bare hands. One day, Farah and her clique assault and bully her in the bathroom over her promiscuous fantasies, knowing about her menstruations. As Zaffan transforms, she starts losing her hair and growing claws, inducing seizures within students and teachers in her presence, though Zaffan escapes to start climbing trees. Zaffan returns that evening to find that the upper floor bathrooms were locked afterwards. Subsequently, the school hires publicity-seeking faith healer Dr. Rahim to investigate, and rumors circulate about the bathroom assault. Later that night, Zaffan gains a preference for eating animals.

During a foot drill, Farah collapses in seizure, claiming she had been possessed as Rahim rushes to the scene. Later, Zaffan senses that Mariam is also about to reach puberty. Mariam later spots Zaffan bathing at the stream before calling for Zaffan, who initially shuts her out, but confesses her desire to leave school and reveals her tiger form to Mariam. Mariam then agrees to stay beside Zaffan near the jungle.

Zaffan fights Munah over her wish to leave school, so Munah desperately promises Azman nothing would hurt her; Zaffan's eyes flash pink while sleeping. Next day, Rahim visits their village and approaches Zaffan's parents. He prepares to exorcise Zaffan at his treatment center with Farah and Mariam in attendance, goading them into sitting beside Zaffan. Rahim initially fails to force Zaffan to transform, threatening to banish her if she refuses. An audience member outs Rahim as a fraud after Mariam defends Zaffan. In response, Rahim sprays and spits water at Zaffan, then gets his assistants to assault her. A transformed Zaffan kills Rahim, leaving behind his severed head before retreating to the jungle. Mariam attempts to follow Zaffan, but is dragged away as Farah is left wailing in terror.

Sometime later, Sabariah launches a curfew, and mandates students to be accompanied by their legal guardians while traveling to and from the school. Mariam, who now wears gloves, and a demoted Farah find that Zaffan has successfully left school; Munah hopes for Zaffan's return. At night, Mariah and Farah come to play and live with Zaffan in the jungle, signifying that they have begun menstruating. Mariam accidentally scratches and wounds Farah's leg, revealing herself as a tiger. She then films Zaffan dancing at the stream.

Cast

  • Zafreen Zairizal as Zaffan[5]
  • Deena Ezral as Farah, a classmate of Zaffan who turns to bullying her. [5]
  • Piqa as Mariam, a classmate of Zaffan. [5]
  • Shaheizy Sam as Dr. Rahim, snake-oil exorcist[5]
  • June Lojong as Munah, Zaffan's mother.[6]
  • Khairunazwan Rodz
  • Fatimah Abu Bakar as headteacher Sabariah[5]

Production

The film is an international co-production project involving eight countries, including Weydemann Bros from Berlin, Germany, Foo Fei Ling of Ghost Grrrl Pictures from Malaysia, Fran Borgia of Akanga Film Asia from Singapore, and Yulia Evina Bhara of KawanKawan Media from Indonesia.[7] The development of the film began in 2017.[8] During its production, Tiger Stripes had collected seven project development credits, including Open Doors Locarno Festival, Network of Asian Fantastic Films, Talents Tokyo, NMSP Project Development Fund, Hubert Bals Fund Bright Future, Less Is More event, and SEAFIC Lab.[9]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2023.[10] It won the award for Critics' Week Grand Prize.[11] It also competed in the Official selection at the 56th Sitges Film Festival,[12] and served as the closing film of 2023 Jakarta Film Week.[13]

In April 2023, Jour2fête acquired its distribution rights in France.[14]

In Malaysia, the film was released on 19 October 2023 only after it had been censored, which prompted the director to disown the film, saying that the released film was not the film that she made and won the prize in Cannes.[4]

It was also invited at the 29th Busan International Film Festival in 'Special program in focus' Teenage Minds, Teenage Movies section and it will be screened in October 2024.[15]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 60 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "A clever and stylish riff on the body horror that is puberty, Tiger Stripes is an exuberant allegory for personal agency as well as an impressive debut for writer-director Amanda Nell Eu."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[17]

Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International described the film as "a well observed, fiercely female-centred coming-of-age drama".[6] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film with three stars out of five and praised Nell Eu's direction and the younger cast's performances.[5]

Accolades

Award Year Category Result Ref.
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2023 Best Youth Film Nominated [18]
BFI London Film Festival 2023 First Feature Competition - Sutherland Trophy Nominated [19]
Cannes Film Festival 2023 Critics' Week Grand Prix Won [20]
Caméra d'Or Nominated
Fantasia Film Festival 2023 Cheval Noir - Best Film Nominated [21]
New Flesh - Special Mention Won
Fantasy Filmfest 2023 Fresh Blood Award Nominated [22]
Hamptons International Film Festival 2023 Golden Starfish Award - Narrative Feature Nominated [23]
Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2023 New Talent Award Nominated [24]
Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2023 Golden Hanoman Award Nominated [25]
Munich Film Festival 2023 CineRebels Award Nominated [26]
Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival 2023 Narcisse Award - Best Feature Film Won [27]
Pingyao International Film Festival 2023 Gala-Best Film Nominated [28]
QCinema International Film Festival 2023 Asian Next Wave Competition - Best Picture Won [29]
Best Director Won
São Paulo International Film Festival 2023 New Directors Competition - Best Fiction Nominated [30]
Sitges Film Festival 2023 Official Competition - Best Feature Film Nominated [31]
Taipei Film Festival 2023 International New Talent Competition - Grand Prize Nominated [32]
Tokyo FILMeX 2023 Grand Prize Nominated [33]
Asian Film Awards 2024 Best New Director Nominated [34]
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2024 FIPRESCI - Best International Film Nominated [35]
Sun Valley Film Festival 2024 Best Narrative Feature Film Won [36]

See also

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Tiger Stripes". Cinéfondation. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023.
  2. ↑ Ferrarese, Marco (7 May 2023). "Malaysian feminist body horror Tiger Stripes to debut at Cannes". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  3. ↑ Peter Tan, John (6 October 2023). "Tiger Stripes Chosen To Represent Malaysia At Next Year's Oscars". The Rakyat Post. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 Frater, Patrick (19 October 2023). "'Tiger Stripes' Director Amanda Nell Eu Denounces Malaysian Censored Release of Oscar-Hopeful Film". Variety. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bradshaw, Peter (17 May 2023). "Tiger Stripes review – coming-of-age body horror releases the monster inside". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  6. 1 2 Halligan, Fionnuala (17 May 2023). "'Tiger Stripes': Cannes Review". Screen International. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  7. ↑ Meza, Ed (22 February 2020). "Weydemann Bros. boards Argentinean, Malaysian Productions". Archived from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Wong, Silvia (1 July 2023). "'Tiger Stripes' director Amanda Nell Eu tracks the wild journey of the award-winning Malaysian film". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Frater, Patrick (18 May 2023). "'Tiger Stripes' Is Highly Developed Product of Indie Film Support System". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  10. ↑ Dodman, Benjamin (20 May 2023). "Malaysian tweens earn their 'Tiger Stripes' in Cannes coming-of-age body horror". France 24. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (24 May 2023). "Cannes: Malaysian Genre Mash-Up 'Tiger Stripes' Wins 2023 Critics' Week". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  12. ↑ "The Festival's 56th Edition Kicks Off by Announcing its Complete Lineup". Sitges Film Festival. 12 September 2023. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  13. ↑ Lavenia, Anastasya (31 October 2023). "Ditutup dengan Meriah, Jakarta Film Week 2023 Putar Film "Tiger Stripes"" [Closed with grandeur, 2023 Jakarta Film Week screens Tiger Stripes]. CXO Media. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  14. ↑ Bataille, Emmanuel (19 April 2023). "Jour2fête distribuera " Tiger Stripes ", en compétition à Cannes". Écran Total. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "The 29th BIFF announces Special Program in Focus 'Teen Spirit, Teen Movie'". Busan International Film Festival. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  16. ↑ "Tiger Stripes". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  17. ↑ "Tiger Stripes". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  18. ↑ "Asia Pacific Screen Awards - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  19. ↑ "BFI London Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  20. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (24 May 2023). "Cannes' Critics' Week Honors Malaysian Film 'Tiger Stripes' With Grand Jury Prize". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  21. ↑ "27th edition of Fantasia announces full list of award winners". Fantasia Festival. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  22. ↑ "Fantasy Filmfest - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  23. ↑ "Hamptons International Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  24. ↑ "Hong Kong Asian Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  25. ↑ "Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  26. ↑ "Munich Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  27. ↑ "NIFFF 2023: Sold Out Screenings and Young Talents Rewarded". Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  28. ↑ "Pingyao International Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  29. ↑ "QCinema International Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  30. ↑ "São Paulo International Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  31. ↑ "Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  32. ↑ "Taipei Film Festival - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  33. ↑ "Tokyo FILMeX - 2023". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  34. ↑ "Asian Film Awards - 2024". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  35. ↑ "Palm Springs International Film Festival - 2024". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  36. ↑ "Sun Valley Film Festival, US - 2024". iMDB. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
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