Synopsis
Cristina’s parents are both Puerto Rican but her father is Black and her mother is not. Her mother began chemically straightening or “perming” her hair because that is what her mother taught her to do. Moreover Cristina has received messages within her family and the greater Latine community that she is more approachable, professional, smarter and prettier for wearing her hair straight. After 40 years of perms, Cristina, a proud Afro-Boricua, questions why she continues this practice and wonders how she would look if she fully embraced her textured tresses. This bilingual feature-length documentary follows Cristina’s natural hair journey while exploring how Anti-Black bias manifests on the bodies and psyches of Latine Afro-descendant women.
Key Personnel
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER | CYNTHIA BASTIDAS (she/her/ella) is a NYC-based bilingual Chicana actor and filmmaker from the California/Mexico border in the Imperial Valley. She founded Semillita Productions, a media arts company that centers the stories of the Femme Latinx experience in the United States. Her short film “missguidance” was awarded Outstanding Short at the XicanIndie Film Festival and Audience Award at the Topaz Film Festival. She is currently directing and producing I Feel Pretty, a feature length documentary film examining Anti-blackness in the US Latine community. Her TV acting credits include Ramy S2 E6, Homeland S6 E6 and theater credits include Don’t Look Back (Voyage Theater Company) PlayOn! Shakespeare Festival (Classic Stage Company), Original Sound (Cherry Lane Theatre) and Just Like Us (Denver Center Theatre.) To learn more about Semillita Productions or Cynthia as an actor visit www.semillitaproductions.com and www.cynthiabastidas.com.
PRODUCER | FLOR DE ORO TEJADA (she/they) is a multidisciplinary filmmaker from the Bronx, New York. She’s produced and directed branded content and non-fiction shorts for Condé Nast, Vox Creative, Time Inc., Tribeca Studios, P&G, Pfizer and many more. Flor graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts and her films have screened at Allied Media Conference, Camden International Film Festival, Seattle Trans Film Festival, Tribeca Festival, Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival, Afrikana Independent Film Festival and more. Her latest film “Bone Black: Midwives vs. the South” won Best Short Documentary awards at Blackstar Film Festival and New Orleans Film Festival in 2023. Flor is a fellow of the 2023 Sundance Documentary Producers Lab and Fellowship
