“Hair Love,” a story about a black father attempting to style his daughter’s natural hair, won Best Animated Short Film at the 2020 Academy Awards.
Directed by Matthew A. Cherry and produced by Karen Rupert Toliver, the short first appeared in theaters before "The Angry Birds Movie 2" and "Jumanji: The Next Level." It was acquired by Sony Pictures Animation in 2019, according to Shadow and Act.
"It was important to get this story out there, and we are so grateful to Sony Pictures Animation for their generous support in helping us make that happen. They have championed it from its early stages, and we cannot wait to share the project with the world." —Matthew Cherry, director of "Hair Love"
In the short film, we see the father fighting with his daughter’s hair, which appears to have a will of its own. They resort to using an online video to successfully recreate a hairstyle. In an emotional turn, we later find out the video tutorial was created by her mother, who has lost her hair and is now in a wheelchair.
Watch the full short film below:
Producer Toliver told NPR in an interview that diversity is important in the current film industry because it helps an audience see themselves in the story.
"The audience is really speaking that they want to see themselves, and representation really, really matters these days. And, you know, when you do it well, the good thing is it becomes a universal story in the specificity of the culture. ... The thing about the short is that everybody is kind of claiming it as their own." — Karen Rupert Toliver, producer of "Hair Love"
Cherry used the Oscars stage to mention legislation called the CROWN Act, which aims to create a respectful and open world for natural hair, especially when it comes to employment, housing and education.
The act has been passed into law in three states and introduced in 20, including Georgia.
»MORE: California poised to be first state to ban race-based discrimination against natural hair
Cherry brought Deandre Arnold as his guest to the awards ceremony, according to CNN. Arnold was put in the national spotlight after being faced with the choice of cutting his dreadlocks or be banned from his high school graduation in Texas.
He did not cut his hair, which he claims represents his Trinidadian roots.
»MORE: Student suspended, told he would not walk in graduation over dreadlocks
" 'Hair Love' was done because we wanted to see more representation in animation, we wanted to normalize black hair and there's a very important issue out there, the CROWN Act. If we can help get this passed in all 50 states it will help stories like Deandre Arnold's ... stop to happen." — Cherry
The story of the award-winning short has been remade into a children's book, which is available to order from Penguin Random House.
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