Director Amanda Nell Eu has entered the ring of teen-girl body horror with Tiger Stripes, following in the footsteps of masters Ducournau, Cronenberg, and De Palma. Ensconced in a Malaysian school for girls, rebellious 12-year-old Zaffan’s body starts to change before everyone else’s. But these changes are far from normal. She is growing aggressive as her body seems to be attacking itself and ostracizing her from her friends. Given the total lack of education around her physical development, these changes begin to scare her as she becomes convinced that she is evolving into a horrific and dangerous monster.
Featuring “a tremendous young cast” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian), the film uses the classic monster fable to present an original, modern coming-of-age story about the trials of girlhood and the universal fear of the unknown. Winner of the prestigious Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prix for her directorial debut, Amanda Nell Eu is a genuinely exciting prospect.
Grand Prix, Critics’ Week, Cannes 2023
“Tiger Stripes follows a line from Carrie to Ginger Snaps, but it has its own story to tell… Interested arthouse crowds will find much that is surprisingly universal and true in this well-observed, fiercely female-centred coming-of-age drama.”
Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International
Series Media Partner
Zafreen Zairizal, Deena Ezral, Piqa, Shaheizy Sam, Jun Lojong
Malaysia/Taiwan/France/Germany/
The Netherlands/Indonesia/Qatar
2023
Altered States
In Malay with English subtitles
Violence
At International Village
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Foo Fei Ling, Mao Huang, Fran Borgia,Juliette Lepoutre, Pierre Menahem, Jonas Weydemann, Ellen Havenith, Yulia Evina Bhara
Screenwriter
Amanda Nell Eu
Cinematography
Jimmy Gimferrer
Editor
Carlo Francisco Manatad
Production Design
Sharon Chin
Original Music
Gabber Modus Operandi
Director
Amanda Nell Eu
Amanda Nell Eu’s short film It’s Easier to Raise Cattle premiered in competition at the Venice International Film Festival and received a Special Mention at the International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand. In her work, she explores the female body and identity within the cultural context of Southeast Asia. Tiger Stripes is her debut feature film and presented at the Critic’s Week 2023 in Cannes, the film obtained the Grand Prize.
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
I Am Not a Witch
Rungano Nyoni's acclaimed debut feature is a visually striking satire about a 9-year-old orphan accused of witchcraft in contemporary Zambia. Screening in the latest African Cinema Now! series, The Witch at the Edge of the Screen.
Akashi
In Mayumi Yoshida’s tender drama, struggling artist Kana journeys to Tokyo to attend her grandmother’s funeral. While there, she reconnects with her childhood love and stumbles across a family secret that prompts her to reconsider her place in the world.
Queen at Sea
An academic is pitted against her stepfather in a moral crisis over the care of her mother, who lives with dementia. Winner of the Silver Bear Jury Prize and Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at the 2026 Berlinale.
Image: © Seafaring