Natural hair book turned short film received Oscar nomination

We absolutely love to see it!

Former NFL player and Chicago native Mattew Cherry received a much deserved Oscar nomination for his short film Hair Love which is based on his successful book by the same title. Cherry launched a Kickstarter for his book and raised over $300,000 to finish his project. He even worked with notable illustrator Vashti Harrison who also has successful projects such as Dream Big, Little One, Sulwe and Little Leaders—Bold Women In Black History.

His book is a wholesome story about a father and his daughter and how they both manage and praise her natural hair. The book details how the daughter’s hair changes in different weather and how it can be big and poofy one day or thick and extra bushy the next. The book enforced positive outlooks on the different ways natural hair looks and how to show little Black girls how to love their hair.

After much acclaim with his book, Cherry announced he would be doing a short film based on his book. Even though the animated film is less than seven minutes, it’s still adorable.

Hair Love is a charming book that shows a positive relationship between a father and his daughter and how a father deals with maintaining their daughter’s natural hair. It is charming, wholesome and fun and highly recommended for any Black little girl with a natural. It is a great bedtime or really, anytime story that will help build confidence in Black girls’ naturals.

The animated movie was released this past summer and was made available for social media just a few weeks ago. On Sony’s YouTube page the animated short has already been viewed over ten million times! Issa Rae voices the mother of Zuri, the beautiful brownskin daughter with the big, beautiful natural hair.

Cherry’s nomination is no small feat. For years, the academy has been tone death to the public’s feedback on their lack of diversity in their categories. Even after all the hashtags, the Oscars still remain overwhelmingly white and boring and if we are lucky, they might recognize a great project that doesn’t center whiteness.