Matthew A. Cherry has taken his talents off the football field and onto the big screen. After stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cinncinatti Bengals, the former NFL player left the league a decade ago to pursue a career in filmmaking and directing. That move has proved relatively successful, as he’s earned a number of screenwriting and directing awards.
Hair Love is Cherry’s latest project currently in production. The animated Pixar-styled short centers around a black father, Stephen, trying to do his daughter Zuri’s hair for the first time.
Cherry found inspiration in the lack of representation of young, black protagonists in movies.
“I don’t find that we are fully represented and the intent for this short film is for little black girls to see a character that they can relate to,” Cherry told Afrobella. “We want to promote hair love and for young girls to embrace who they really are.”
A large portion of funding for the project is through a Kickstarter campaign. The campaign has bumped the original goal of $75,000 to $100,000 in order to achieve the style of animation they desire.
The Kickstarter campaign deadline is August 9. If interested, you can donate here.
