SILVER SPRING, Md. - March 2, 2020 - Filmmaker Alyscia Cunningham's empowering documentary, I Am More Than My Hair, will be front and center at this year's Through Women's Eyes International Film Festival, which will take place in Sarasota, FL on March 6-8. According to the Silver Spring resident, she's looking forward to attending the upcoming event and helping to change how society defines beauty.

"I feel honored that TWE judges selected my film as an Official Selection. This is my first film and the very first film festival that I'm attending as a filmmaker," Cunningham said. "I couldn't have thought of a better festival to share the stories of the women in my film."

Now in its 21st year, Through Women's Eyes International Film Festival is an international film festival offering films with a focus on international women's issues, stories, and lives as well as films on any topic by women filmmakers. Cunningham believes her documentary is a perfect fit for the film festival.

"I believe my film resonated with this particular film festival because it fits the title 'Through Women's Eyes' so perfectly," she said. "I captured personal stories of the females in I Am More Than My Hair (https://vimeo.com/215873846) through my eyes. And through their personal experiences they share their stories with me. It's by and about women."

Cunningham's I Am More Than My Hair is an inspirational film that tells the stories of several brave women living with a health-related condition that caused alopecia, a common autoimmune condition in which hair follicles are damaged by a misguided immune system. The filmmaker hopes her documentary changes the way society views female hair loss.

"I hope that viewers gain an understanding of alopecia (the partial or complete loss of hair). It's important to know that although a woman may lose her hair due to cancer treatment, it's not necessarily always the case," she stressed. "I also hope that viewers see beauty differently and not as what we've been taught to believe as a beauty standard."

Along with gearing up for the film festival, Cunningham has launched fundraising efforts to prepare I Am More Than My Hair for presentations that are accessible for people with sight and hearing disabilities. To support her efforts, tax-deductible donations can be made via the filmmaker's fiscal sponsor, Docs In Progress - www.docsinprogress.org/hair. Also, Cunningham will launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise additional funds for post-production completion, which will include sound mixing and color correction.

To learn more about the filmmaker's latest project, visit: www.alyscia.com

Media Contact
Alyscia Cunningham