Tiger Stripes (15)

Malaysia | 2023 | 95’ | 15 | Amanda Nell Eu | Malay with English subtitles | Zafreen Zairiza

Puberty is a nightmare for lively, cheeky 12-year-old Zaffan – the natural leader in her friend group – as she discovers a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracised by her peers and her village, Zaffan fights back, learning that to be free she must embrace the body she fears and emerge as a strong, proud young woman. Intelligent, gruesome and funny, using tropes and monsters from Southeast Asian folklore to symbolise a particularly violent transition to adulthood and the (perceived) horror of teenage non-conformity, Tiger Stripes is a fierce, female-centred coming-of-age drama and indisputably the work of a bold new talent.