Bad Hair (Pelo Malo)
Bad Hair (Pelo Malo)
Junior (Samuel Lange), a 9-year-old boy from a disadvantaged neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela, develops an obsession with straightening his hair—deemed socially as pelo malo (bad hair)—for his school photo. As Junior yearns to discover his identity through this fixation with his hair, it leads to rising tensions with his domineering mother Marta (Samantha Castillo), whose cause of distress is rooted in fear over noticing Junior’s increasing queerness. Through Junior’s relationship with his hair, Pelo Malo explores questions about race, gender norms, sexuality, age, and class, influenced by the lasting effects of colonization which continue to permeate throughout Latin America.
Back to Main Series
Film Program
Sat, Oct 12, 2024
Raising Victor Vargas in 35mm
Introduction by co-writer, director Peter Sollett and co-writer Eva Vives.
Film Program
Sun, Oct 13, 2024
Freda
Introduction by Richardson Chery and Martine Harris, Co-Founders of Haitian Spotlight
Film Program
Mon, Sep 16, 2024
Mi Vida Loca in 35mm, presented by Allison Anders
Pre-screening conversation with writer-director Allison Anders and actors Angel Aviles and Seidy López.
Film Program
Fri, Sep 27, 2024
Mosquita y Mari
Pre-screening conversation with writer-director Aurora Guerrero and actors Fenessa Pineda and Venecia Troncoso.