Fort York
tuesday, june 17, 2025

clueless

With the short film Hair!

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, director Amy Heckerling’s knowingly satirical and diegetically sincere coming-of-age classic Clueless showcases the privileged lives of affluent Beverly Hills teenagers. Much like Jane Austen’s Emma (Heckerling’s inspiration for the film) fifteen-year-old Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is accustomed to enjoying the finer things in life, but her determination and kind-heartedness prove there is more to her than meets the eye. While always keeping style and beauty at the forefront, Cher prioritizes her friendships and the betterment of others, taking it upon herself to give shy new girl Tai (the late icon Brittany Murphy) a makeover and help her find the man of her dreams. While physically transforming Tai, Cher becomes aware  of some of her own pitfalls and insecurities, and starts to realize the real makeover might have to be  the making over of her own soul.

Toronto filmmaker Sara Jade Alfaro-Dehghani’s dual Iranian and Mexican heritage drives the exploration of generational female relationships and beauty rituals in her short film Hair! The film centres on the  family dynamics of three immigrant sisters and their daughters as they meet for tea and to assist each other in various forms of hair removal. While unpacking the complex relationships between the women, immigration, beauty rituals, and rites of passage, a young Nora practices her threading technique around the house, as she prepares to step into the coven and perform hair removal rituals for the women in her family. Hair! is further highlighted in this year’s Spotlight on SWANA Stories programme.