The highly anticipated short film, Hair Love has officially been released on Instagram and YouTube.
What We Know:
- The short film was written by former NFL wide receiver Matthew A. Cherry. The film is six minutes in length and tells the story about a father learning to do his daughter’s Afro-textured hair for the first time in the absence of her mother.
- Doing a child’s hair is traditionally a bonding moment between mother and daughter but it is inspiring and adorable to see many black fathers taking on the task. This film captures how love and devotion exceeds the fear of stepping into the unknown when it comes to styling little black girls’ hair.
- Cherry, who is not a father says, “Black fathers get one of the worst raps in terms of stereotypes—we’re deadbeats, we’re not around. The people I know are extremely involved in their kids’ lives.” He notes that many of his friends are young fathers.
- Hair Love was originally released as an opener for Angry Birds 2 and was funded through a Kickstarter campaign which attracted filmmakers Everett Downing Jr. and Bruce Smith. The film also has a children’s picture book companion that was illustrated by New York Times bestselling author Vashti Harrison, published through Penguin Kids in May.
- The film has received loads of love and appreciation. Fans have flooded Sony’s page pleading for a longer version of the film saying that it’s “an image we need for our daughters”. Check the film out for yourself below:
Though Cherry does hope to continue the story, he told the New York Times that he is just enjoying the responses to it.
