In Love with “Hair Love”

It’s not a shock that we LOVE hair here at Madison Reed. So you can imagine how thrilled we were when we first saw “Hair Love”, the animated short film about an African-American father learning how to help his daughter style her hair. Talk about love at first sight. But after digging a little deeper into the story behind the film, well—we fell even harder…

Turns out, the film was written by an ex-N.F.L. wide receiver turned filmmaker, Matthew A. Cherry. After retiring from football, he moved to L.A. to pursue a career in entertainment, eventually working as a production assistant and director on commercials, music videos and short films. The story in “Hair Love” is told with such paternal tenderness, we were surprised to learn that Cherry himself has no children, though he has said in interviews that he has many friends who are young fathers. 

The film is being hailed for its universal messages of love and inclusivity, and is important in that it combats negative stereotypes of African-American fathers. Representation matters, and the film represents empowerment and inclusivity, not to mention the strong link between hair and confidence. Please watch for yourself, and you will see why the original Kickstarter campaign for the film fundraised $300,000, why it was eventually picked up by Sony Pictures Animation, and why it has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. No spoilers, but make sure you watch the end credits, paying attention to the hair...I’m not crying, you’re crying. ;)