For 12-year-old Zaffan, starting her period is not a gift but a sin. Her mother blames her for showing signs of femininity, and her best friends bully her for being unclean. When the all-too-natural process of secondary puberty collides with the discrimination and oppression faced by women in a conservative society, growing up naturally becomes twisted and deformed. Tiger Stripes is inspired by Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu’s own alienation as an adolescent when she began her period. The fear and isolation she felt, as though she were “like a monster,” became the foundation for this genre film. Zaffan’s transformation into a tiger—a creature both feared and revered by her community—empowers her to embrace the changes in her body and confront society’s prejudices with dignity. The film stands out as a unique coming-of-age story, breaking away from the typical body horror and feminist clichés that often degrade women’s bodies. Its failure to pass the censorship in Malaysia reflects the film’s contextual background. (LEE Hwajung)