Hair or No Hair
A young Black woman has been hiding behind wigs for years until her Alopecia is exposed publicly. She uses this experience as a catalyst to break free of the shame she feels towards her baldness.
Interview with Writer/Director/Actor Janessa St. Pierre
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The genesis of this project begins with my own personal experience. After being diagnosed with Alopecia in 2015, I navigated the various stages of hair loss, which ignited a profound shift in my perception of beauty. As a Black woman, I've spent a significant portion of my life being aware of my hair, not for my comfort, but for the convenience of others. When Alopecia divested me of my hair, it also divested me of societal expectations, allowing me to redefine my personal standard of beauty. This narrative, one of self-acceptance and liberation, is a story I believe must be shared.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
As a member of the audience, you should watch Hair or No Hair because it tells a compelling and timely story about a young Black woman grappling with her self-image and societal expectations. It's more than that though, It's a look into what it's like to live with Hair Loss. It's a look into what it's like to live with a visible difference. it's not a linear journey to come to acceptance, it's usually a rollercoaster. Alopecia, without consent, stripped me naked. The trauma of that has left me a better person who literally sees the world in a different way now. I don’t see beauty based on what’s out there in media, film, magazines or Instagram. I see it living and growing inside individuals that choose themselves. I want to share this perspective with the world. I hope they can take this new perspective away from the film.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The film explores the themes of identity, self-acceptance, and breaking free from shame. The protagonist, Bel Davis, has been hiding behind wigs due to her Alopecia, but after her condition is exposed publicly, she uses the experience as a catalyst to embrace her baldness and challenge societal beauty standards. Exploring universal themes like self-acceptance within Hair or No Hair is what grounded the story. I think everyone can relate to what it's like to not feel 'OK.' To carry shame and struggle with internal and external insecurities.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script and film have evolved over development in many ways. I actually started writing the script maybe five or six years ago when I was just out of film school, and it went from a much shorter length short, and in a completely different format to a longer short format, and a completely different tone, and story, I think what changed so much from from when I started writing it five years ago is, I kind of put it on the back burner about three years ago and didn’t look at it until I saw a grant available from Storyhive so I feel like the story shifted with actually how I progressed in my own journey with alopecia. The script changed a lot because I changed a lot.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The type of feedback that I received so far has been quite overwhelming as somebody who lives with alopecia I don’t think that I fully processed or came to terms with the fact that I will have to go out, and then share the story. I just from the beginning, always wanted to tell the story to have the representation be out there and so that other people living with alopecia don’t have to feel so alone, but I didn’t realize what comes with that exposure is also feedback. But in my case, I’ve been really lucky to meet other people with hair loss and connect with them in real life, in person, at film screenings, and in the Q&As. The thing that makes me feel like this story truly does matter and needs to be told, and out there is hearing feedback from other people with alopecia who come up to me and tell me that, they’re glad that something like this is out there now and for me that’s all I really hoped for.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Honestly, just having the feedback of people being open enough to tell me about their alopecia, and about their hair loss journeys, or if they know someone in their lives, who also has alopecia; I’ve just been so shocked by other people's vulnerability and openness. I’m extremely grateful for that. People even feel OK to tell me things like that but I think that’s what surprised me the most about this project is that people are so open and really ready to have the conversation.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope by sharing this in We Are Moving Stories that film lovers, film enthusiasts, filmmakers and other storytellers can expose themselves to a new story, a new challenge, a new way of living. From the beginning, every time that this project gets to be visible in some way I just hope that there are other alopecians out there looking at this content and seeing themselves a little bit. I hope those people try to seek out the film, reach out to their local film festivals and such saying that they want to see the film. I also hope to shift this idea that baldness is disgusting and undesirable in the entertainment industry and I hope that my story being visible on this platform does that or helps that.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Right now with this short film, we are still submitting to film festivals but we are at the end of that journey and we are looking for sales agents, buyers distributors, festival directors, and journalists to amplify this message. We need those people to come on board because we don’t have much of a plan of where the short is going to go after this, we hope to have it available on a streaming service or create an impact campaign. We are developing a feature-length project that follows the same themes and character so it would be great to get in conversation with people who are interested and intrigued with the story of this character going through hair loss, we would love to have Partners and assistance throughout that next process.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
The reason why I wanted to tell the story was because I didn’t see anybody on the screen who looked like me and I didn’t see this real experience of hair loss being depicted in any real or authentic way, so I hope that the impact of this film is one that brings awareness and education to something that people may have been ignorant of. I hope that this story brings people into the world of alopecia and the real-life effects of alopecia and educates people who may have not known anything about alopecia before seeing the film. I also hope that this changes the way that people think about baldness. I hope this shifts the way people see outside beauty standards, and how freeing it really is to let go of all of the expectations. At the end of the day, this film was made for Alopecians by an Alopecian. I want people with alopecia to see themselves for once.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What makes you so afraid of Baldness?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you for the opportunity! #AlopeciaAwareness
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are developing a feature-length version of Hair or No Hair. Please take note of that! :)
Interview: January 2024
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Hair or No Hair
A young Black woman has been hiding behind wigs for years until her Alopecia is exposed publicly. She uses this experience as a catalyst to break free of the shame she feels towards her baldness.
Length: 14:55
Director: Janessa St. Pierre
Producer: Geoff Manton
Writer: Janessa St. Pierre
About the writer, director and producer:
JANESSA ST. PIERRE, an award-winning Black, Queer filmmaker, began her career in Vancouver's film industry in 2017. She's worked in various roles, contributing to acclaimed projects like The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open and "FRESH". Her first writing credit, Think Again, won Best Short at the IGen Youth Festival, and her latest venture, Hair or No Hair, won at the Micheaux Film Festival and LA Shorts Festival. St. Pierre is a 2023 VIFF catalyst mentorship program selectee.
While producing commercials, GEOFF MANTON has also produced the Telus Originals web series, Literally, starring Shane Koyczan; Random Is My Favourite Colour, a documentary for the CBC; and several short films, including Paco and Hair or No Hair. Geoff is also a co-founder of the nonprofit community-building initiative, Filmable, in an effort to create more opportunities for meaningful connection and career development within the Independent Filmmaking Community.
Key cast: Janessa St. Pierre (Bel Davis) Quincy Thompson (Clementine) Shaun Morse (Dermatologist) Samantha Clarke (Gina)
Looking for: sales agents, distributors, journalists, film festival directors, buyers
Twitter: @nestea99
Instagram: @janessastpierre, @hair.ornohair
Hashtags used: #hairornohair, #alopeciaawareness
Website: www.hairornohair.com
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: BOLDLY, TELUS Storyhive and the Black Screen Office
Funders: Crowdfunding by Seed & Spark
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Slamdance 2024 - Park City, Utah - United States of America
January 19th 2024 - 8:45pm MST - @ Slamdance HQ @ The Yarrow Theatre B - 1800 Park Avenue, Park City UT 84060
January 22nd 2024 - 6:30pm MST - @ The Student Union Theatre, University of Utah - 200 Central Campus Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84112