Hairy legs

In this charming and incisive coming-of-age short, the Canadian filmmaker Andrea Dorfman recalls her long and complicated relationship with leg hair. Beginning with the story of a first shave gone wrong when she was 13, a series of small yet memorable moments – riding her bike and feeling the thrill of independence, finding joy and solidarity in friendships, discovering Simone de Beauvoir in college – accumulate into a vivid exploration of belonging, femininity and rebellion. Dorfman tells the story through her characteristically playful mixed-media animation style and with a gift for finding significance in the quotidian, ultimately showing how choosing not to shave became an important act of self-discovery, allowing her to stay true to the free-spirited child she once was, and the woman she chose to become.