You'll see below in MNB's modest but annual Oscar coverage - what do you expect from a guy who co-wrote a book entitled "THE BIG PICTURE: Essential Business Lessons from the Movies" - that the Best Animated Short award went to a six-minute film called Hair Love.
This is a wonderful little film, about a young African American girl trying to deal with her unruly hair, and the single father who finds their shared situation to be a challenge.
In the matter of six minutes, Hair Love manages to be funny, charming, sad and redemptive … which is no small thing.
The reason MNB is drawing attention to it - beyond the quality and uplift of the work - is that Dove helped to underwrite the largely Kickstarter-funded production … but has done so with relative little fanfare, just getting its name on the film in the "thanks" at the end.
But, as Fast Company notes, it has gone beyond that.
"The soft-sell here is Dove just having its name involved with the film and then able to raise some awareness of that involvement and support through events and other initiatives. For example, when Texas teen DeAndre Arnold was suspended from school for having dreadlocks, the film’s producers reached out to have him walk the Oscars red carpet with them … Dove has also been working…to help spread the Hair Love message by reaching out to tastemakers and media, as well as putting on community screenings of the film in New York and Los Angeles."
Great film … terrific effort by all involved … and you can watch it here.
