First-time feature filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu takes on puberty for “Tiger Stripes,” the critically acclaimed feature that won the Grand Prize of Critics’ Week during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
Set in a rural Malaysian village, “Tiger Stripes” follows 12-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) as she discovers a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracized by her community, Zaffan fights back, learning that to be free she must embrace the body she feared, emerging as a proud, strong woman, all while trying to balance her mother (Jun Lojong) and father’s (Khairunazwan Rodzy) expectations.
The film is shot on phones and incorporates TikTok, with Jimmy Gimferrer serving as cinematographer. “Tiger Stripes” made history at Cannes 2023 by being the first feature from a Malaysian female director to play at the festival.
The IndieWire review called “Tiger Stripes” a “well-made, eminently watchable illustration of the ‘monster’ that so many young girls are told to see themselves as.
Set in a rural Malaysian village, “Tiger Stripes” follows 12-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) as she discovers a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracized by her community, Zaffan fights back, learning that to be free she must embrace the body she feared, emerging as a proud, strong woman, all while trying to balance her mother (Jun Lojong) and father’s (Khairunazwan Rodzy) expectations.
The film is shot on phones and incorporates TikTok, with Jimmy Gimferrer serving as cinematographer. “Tiger Stripes” made history at Cannes 2023 by being the first feature from a Malaysian female director to play at the festival.
The IndieWire review called “Tiger Stripes” a “well-made, eminently watchable illustration of the ‘monster’ that so many young girls are told to see themselves as.
- 5/9/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Tiger Stripes, about a girl who turns into a jungle cat when her periods start, was chosen by Malaysia as its Oscar entry. But they wanted cuts. Amanda Nell Eu relives a ‘painful and comedic’ experience
The director Amanda Nell Eu has always been a bit of a rebel, she says over video chat from her home in Kuala Lumpur. “When I was a teenager, I was sometimes labelled a monster by my parents and teachers. I probably wasn’t the most obedient child.” Now Eu has turned the horrors of puberty into an actual horror movie. Tiger Stripes is her feature debut, a funny and political film with a whopping air punch of girl power. Set in a conservative Muslim school, it mixes body horror with Mean Girls energy and a sprinkle of Malaysian folklore.
Eu cast her trio of leading girls during lockdown, putting adverts on Instagram and...
The director Amanda Nell Eu has always been a bit of a rebel, she says over video chat from her home in Kuala Lumpur. “When I was a teenager, I was sometimes labelled a monster by my parents and teachers. I probably wasn’t the most obedient child.” Now Eu has turned the horrors of puberty into an actual horror movie. Tiger Stripes is her feature debut, a funny and political film with a whopping air punch of girl power. Set in a conservative Muslim school, it mixes body horror with Mean Girls energy and a sprinkle of Malaysian folklore.
Eu cast her trio of leading girls during lockdown, putting adverts on Instagram and...
- 5/7/2024
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
With her debut feature “Tiger Stripes,” Malaysian writer-director Amanda Nell Eu joins an exciting group of directors who provide subversive takes on genre and body horror. Julia Ducournau and “Raw” comes to mind, as do Agnieszka Smoczynska and “The Lure” and John Fawcett and “Ginger Snaps” — like David Cronenberg before them.
Eu, an Ma graduate of the London Film School, blends Malaysian folklore with heightened realism and a large dollop of “Mean Girls” in the story of a tween going through changes wrought by puberty and alterations in her friendship group. World premiering at the Cannes Critics Week, it came away with the Grand Jury Prize for best feature and has been collecting additional kudos ever since. It represents Malaysia in the Oscar international feature competition.
Bold 12-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) is the natural leader among her group of gal pals, all currently seniors at their religious primary school. She...
Eu, an Ma graduate of the London Film School, blends Malaysian folklore with heightened realism and a large dollop of “Mean Girls” in the story of a tween going through changes wrought by puberty and alterations in her friendship group. World premiering at the Cannes Critics Week, it came away with the Grand Jury Prize for best feature and has been collecting additional kudos ever since. It represents Malaysia in the Oscar international feature competition.
Bold 12-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) is the natural leader among her group of gal pals, all currently seniors at their religious primary school. She...
- 12/9/2023
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Amanda Nell Eu’s feature debut Tiger Stripes is filled with vivid scenes of contemporary girlhood. The film, which won the prize for best feature at the 2023 Cannes Critics’ Week and is Malaysia’s Oscar entry, opens with a giggling trio recording a dance routine. Anyone familiar with the TikTok dance challenges will clock the pattern of these videos. An off-screen voice asks “Okay, ready?” A young girl beams at the camera as she shakes her hips, flicks her wrists and spins. Her rhythm matches the bumping cadence of the electronic dance track playing in the background. Another friend, also off-screen, cheers her on.
Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal), Miriam (Piqa) and Farah (Deena Ezral) are a trio of middle-school girls who break up the monotony of classroom days with brief bathroom conventions. In this space, a private lavatory for the older students in their school, the girls record their videos, gossip,...
Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal), Miriam (Piqa) and Farah (Deena Ezral) are a trio of middle-school girls who break up the monotony of classroom days with brief bathroom conventions. In this space, a private lavatory for the older students in their school, the girls record their videos, gossip,...
- 11/16/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Gersh on Tuesday announced its signing of Amanda Nell Eu, the rising filmmaker whose debut feature Tiger Stripes recently made history at the Cannes Film Festival.
The first Malaysian film directed by a woman to premiere at the prestigious French festival, Tiger Stripes is also the first out of Malaysia to win one of its top awards, having earlier this year nabbed the Critics’ Week Grand Prize. It’s a coming-of-age body horror that tells the story of Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal), a 12-year-old girl who discovers a terrifying secret about her body. When she’s ostracized by her rural community, Zaffan fights back, learning that she must embrace the body she feared and, ultimately, emerging as a proud, strong woman.
Since its Cannes premiere, the film has gone on to screen at the Neufchâtel Fantastic Film Festival, there winning the Narcisse Award for Best Feature. U.S. release plans haven’t yet been disclosed,...
The first Malaysian film directed by a woman to premiere at the prestigious French festival, Tiger Stripes is also the first out of Malaysia to win one of its top awards, having earlier this year nabbed the Critics’ Week Grand Prize. It’s a coming-of-age body horror that tells the story of Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal), a 12-year-old girl who discovers a terrifying secret about her body. When she’s ostracized by her rural community, Zaffan fights back, learning that she must embrace the body she feared and, ultimately, emerging as a proud, strong woman.
Since its Cannes premiere, the film has gone on to screen at the Neufchâtel Fantastic Film Festival, there winning the Narcisse Award for Best Feature. U.S. release plans haven’t yet been disclosed,...
- 8/8/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
On the occasion of Tiger Stripes screening at Neuchatel, Amanda Nell Eu talks to Panos Kotzathanasis about her award in Cannes and overall success of the movie, how close to her own experiences are what the protagonist experiences, monsters and the supernatural in a world where the supernatural is prevalent, the excellent performances of Deene Ezral in the role of Farah and Zafreen Zairizal as Zaffan, and other topics.
- 7/7/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The 27th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival is set to run from from July 20th through August 9th at the Concordia Hall Cinema in Montreal, with additional screens at the Cinémathèque québécoise and Cinéma du Musée. In May, they announced the first wave of titles that will be showing at this year’s festival. Last month, the second wave was announced. Now, the titles that make up the third and final wave have been unveiled – and along with that comes the announcement that Nicolas Cage will be receiving the Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award at this year’s show!
The Fantasia International Film Festival has chosen to honor Nicolas Cage this year because he “has brought a wide variety of unforgettable people to life in works that are as memorable as the characters he portrayed, with textured performances that have been among the most exciting and unique from...
The Fantasia International Film Festival has chosen to honor Nicolas Cage this year because he “has brought a wide variety of unforgettable people to life in works that are as memorable as the characters he portrayed, with textured performances that have been among the most exciting and unique from...
- 7/6/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
The 27th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival is set to commence from July 20 through August 9, 2023, taking place at the Concordia Hall Cinema, with additional screens at the Cinémathèque québécoise and Cinéma du Musée.
After two packed waves of programming, the festival unveils its third wave of programming this morning, bringing exciting world premieres and the announcement of Nicolas Cage as this year’s Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award recipient.
From the press release:
We Are Zombies
The 27th edition of the festival will end on an especially riotous note with the World Premiere of We Are Zombies, the latest from internationally beloved Quebecois cult collective Rkss (Summer Of ’84) – François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell. Based on the comic Les Zombies Qui Ont MANGÉ Le Monde (The Zombies that Ate the World), the film is set in a society where zombies, referred to as “living-impaired,” roam among us...
After two packed waves of programming, the festival unveils its third wave of programming this morning, bringing exciting world premieres and the announcement of Nicolas Cage as this year’s Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award recipient.
From the press release:
We Are Zombies
The 27th edition of the festival will end on an especially riotous note with the World Premiere of We Are Zombies, the latest from internationally beloved Quebecois cult collective Rkss (Summer Of ’84) – François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell. Based on the comic Les Zombies Qui Ont MANGÉ Le Monde (The Zombies that Ate the World), the film is set in a society where zombies, referred to as “living-impaired,” roam among us...
- 7/6/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Winner of the Critics' Week Grand Prize in Cannes this year, “Tiger Stripes” is a multinational production and Amanda Nell Eu's first feature. The film incorporates the new style of horror movies coming out of Asean countries, where the social commentary is at least as intense as the genre aspect, in an approach that seems to appeal particularly to film festivals.
“Tiger Stripes” is screening at Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival
The movie opens with 12-year-old Zaffan discarding her burga while dancing wildly in the school bathroom, while being recorded on a mobile phone. It is then, however, that her ‘frenemy', Farah, the third member of a ‘gang' also including Mariam, arrives and starts criticizing her in the most intense way, particularly for the fact that Zaffan is also wearing a bra. This scene actually sets the tone for the whole movie, with Zaffan almost constantly being on the...
“Tiger Stripes” is screening at Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival
The movie opens with 12-year-old Zaffan discarding her burga while dancing wildly in the school bathroom, while being recorded on a mobile phone. It is then, however, that her ‘frenemy', Farah, the third member of a ‘gang' also including Mariam, arrives and starts criticizing her in the most intense way, particularly for the fact that Zaffan is also wearing a bra. This scene actually sets the tone for the whole movie, with Zaffan almost constantly being on the...
- 7/6/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Tiger Stripes, the feature debut of Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu has won the prize for best feature of the 2023 Cannes Critics’ Week.
The film, one of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Hidden Gem picks from the festival sidebars this year, stars first-time actress Zafreen Zairizal as Zaffan, a rebellious and carefree 12-year-old who finds herself in the awkward position of being the first girl in class to get her period. Embarrassed and confused, and bullied by her classmate, Zaffan finds her body is changing in other, more horrifying, ways and she is faced with the decision of whether to submit to society’s shaming or embrace her true monstrous self.
As a feature debut, Tiger Stripes is also up for Cannes’ Camera d’Or prize for best first film.
Venice 2021 Golden Lion winner Audrey Diwan (Happening) headed up the 2023 Critics’ Week jury. The French Touch Prize of the Jury, which...
The film, one of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Hidden Gem picks from the festival sidebars this year, stars first-time actress Zafreen Zairizal as Zaffan, a rebellious and carefree 12-year-old who finds herself in the awkward position of being the first girl in class to get her period. Embarrassed and confused, and bullied by her classmate, Zaffan finds her body is changing in other, more horrifying, ways and she is faced with the decision of whether to submit to society’s shaming or embrace her true monstrous self.
As a feature debut, Tiger Stripes is also up for Cannes’ Camera d’Or prize for best first film.
Venice 2021 Golden Lion winner Audrey Diwan (Happening) headed up the 2023 Critics’ Week jury. The French Touch Prize of the Jury, which...
- 5/24/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Tiger Stripes,” the debut feature of Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu, won the Grand Prize at Cannes’ Critics’ Week, the Cannes sidebar dedicated to first or second films. The prize was awarded by a jury presided over by Audrey Diwan, the Venice prizewinning director of “Happening.”
The French Touch Jury Award went to Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï’s “It’s Raining in the House,” a film about adolescence, while the Revelation prize from the Louis Roederer Foundation was handed out to Jovan Ginic, the actor of Vladimir Perisic’s “Lost Country.” The Sacd prize, meanwhile, went to “The Rapture” by Iris Kaltenbäck.
“Tiger Stripes” tells the story of Zaffan, a 12 year-old girl who discovers a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracized by her community, Zaffan fights back, learning that in order to be free she must embrace the body she feared, emerging as a proud, strong woman.
The film stars Zafreen Zairizal,...
The French Touch Jury Award went to Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï’s “It’s Raining in the House,” a film about adolescence, while the Revelation prize from the Louis Roederer Foundation was handed out to Jovan Ginic, the actor of Vladimir Perisic’s “Lost Country.” The Sacd prize, meanwhile, went to “The Rapture” by Iris Kaltenbäck.
“Tiger Stripes” tells the story of Zaffan, a 12 year-old girl who discovers a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracized by her community, Zaffan fights back, learning that in order to be free she must embrace the body she feared, emerging as a proud, strong woman.
The film stars Zafreen Zairizal,...
- 5/24/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The use of body horror allegories in cinema to address the physical, physiological, and mental changes brought on by puberty could hardly be called original. However, by delightfully and intelligently remixing symbols and metaphors Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu refreshes the concept in her zesty debut feature “Tiger Stripes.”
The term “body horror” could in fact be considered a misnomer in this case, as our fierce lead protagonist Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) doesn’t undergo anything as monstrous as growing a car in her belly or a biogun out of her hand.
Continue reading ‘Tiger Stripes’ Review: Zesty Malaysian Coming-Of-Age Tale Of Emancipation Intelligently Remixes Metaphors [Cannes] at The Playlist.
The term “body horror” could in fact be considered a misnomer in this case, as our fierce lead protagonist Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) doesn’t undergo anything as monstrous as growing a car in her belly or a biogun out of her hand.
Continue reading ‘Tiger Stripes’ Review: Zesty Malaysian Coming-Of-Age Tale Of Emancipation Intelligently Remixes Metaphors [Cannes] at The Playlist.
- 5/17/2023
- by Elena Lazic
- The Playlist
Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu’s debut about a young girl discovering the truth behind her rebellious nature bristles with supernatural energy thanks to a tremendous young cast
There are some arresting images and bright performances in this bristling debut feature from Malaysian film-maker Amanda Nell Eu, who heads off into a jungle of the mind for a supernatural-realist drama and coming-of-age chiller about the female body and sexuality, with hints of Brian De Palma, David Cronenberg and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It is possibly a little bit derivative and sometimes seems to be treading water in narrative terms, but only after making us submit to a very woozy and hallucinatory experience.
The scene is a Muslim school for girls in Malaysia whose pupils are required to submit to conservative dress and attitudes; in the English language class, they are presented with sentences such as: “The father goes to work. The mother cooks at home.
There are some arresting images and bright performances in this bristling debut feature from Malaysian film-maker Amanda Nell Eu, who heads off into a jungle of the mind for a supernatural-realist drama and coming-of-age chiller about the female body and sexuality, with hints of Brian De Palma, David Cronenberg and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It is possibly a little bit derivative and sometimes seems to be treading water in narrative terms, but only after making us submit to a very woozy and hallucinatory experience.
The scene is a Muslim school for girls in Malaysia whose pupils are required to submit to conservative dress and attitudes; in the English language class, they are presented with sentences such as: “The father goes to work. The mother cooks at home.
- 5/17/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The universal experience of going through puberty, for any teenager in the midst of it, is basically a first-person body-horror movie — with innocence traded for frightening new powers and one’s changing place in the world painfully up for grabs. Such is the premise of Malaysian writer-director Amanda Nell Eu’s cheekily subversive and vibrantly colorful first feature Tiger Stripes, premiering in Cannes’ Critics Week section on Wednesday.
“When you’re a teenager, you look down at your body one day and suddenly something new and terrifying has happened,” Eu says. “And there are all of those cliches about how teenage girls become so emotional and hysterical that they turn into ‘monsters.’ So, I thought, ‘What if I tell a story about a girl who actually does become a monster’?”
With Tiger Stripes, Eu gives this premise an appealing particularity by rooting the story in rural Malaysia’s traditional folk...
“When you’re a teenager, you look down at your body one day and suddenly something new and terrifying has happened,” Eu says. “And there are all of those cliches about how teenage girls become so emotional and hysterical that they turn into ‘monsters.’ So, I thought, ‘What if I tell a story about a girl who actually does become a monster’?”
With Tiger Stripes, Eu gives this premise an appealing particularity by rooting the story in rural Malaysia’s traditional folk...
- 5/17/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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