SYNOPSIS
The film follows women experiencing traumatic blows to their self-image after unexpectedly losing their hair due to Alopecia, Lupus, or chemotherapy. Among them is the film’s director, who sets out on a five-year journey to tell their stories while grappling with her own identity and what it means to be authentic. Although each of the women experience subsequent mental health, relationship, financial, and social impacts, they individually cope and recover from these challenges in dramatically different ways.
BEAUTIFUL. POWERFUL. HONEST."
- Thyannda Mack, Founder of Inclusive Resolutions
DIGITALLY STREAMING NOW!
Head to Head is now available on these platforms:
AT&T U-Verse
iN DEMAND (most cable platforms Comcast, Spectrum)
Vubiquity (cable platforms – Verizon Fios)
Hoopla – libraries
-distributed by Freestyle Digital Media-
Screening In The Workplace
Are you looking for ways to elevate the culture of your company or organization? The Head to Head team is working with Storybolt to help you craft a screening, filmmaker Q&A, panel, and/or facilitated workshop exploring everything from identity, mental health, implicit bias, diversity and inclusion, and more.
If you are interested in learning more about the program, contact Storybolt.
Head to Head is raw and real. Honestly, this is the film to turn to for anyone going through hair loss, and their loved ones.”
- Allison Ombres, Founder of Encelia Hair, Alopecian Warrior
THE WOMEN'S STORIES
BARBIE
A military wife, mother, and nanny, Barbie battles deepening anger and resentment as she approaches 30 years of feeling ‘alien’ while detaching herself from genuine social interactions with people in her small, rural Indiana town."
MARGOT
Margot redefines her life’s purpose after surviving breast cancer at the age of 22. She was blindsided while undergoing chemotherapy by the lack of resources and information made available by health care providers for coping with hair loss, especially for young black women. Knowing first hand the power of hair in healing, Margot sets out to help other women as they face a similar challenge.
JILLIAN
Jillian is a young graphic designer and illustrator who, after being diagnosed with a genetic form of hair loss as a teenager, experiences detrimental anxiety and isolation at work. She uses her creative skills to find a pathway to healing.
JAIME
Jamie is a single corporate executive living in Chicago who pursues extreme hair loss solutions while facing scrutiny in her dating and work life.
EBONY
Raised by a single mother in a small town, Ebony competes in the Miss Michigan USA pageant, an achievement fueled by childhood bullying due to her baldness from Alopecia. Even still, the residual emotional impacts linger long after the competition ends.
The courageous women featured in head to head proudly show what it means to be beautiful -- inside and out. The filmmakers have crafted a soulful, relatable, important film about, at its core, the journey to self acceptance and love."
- Betsy Steinberg, Film and Media Consultant, Cancer & Hair Loss Survivor
Andrea Alberti, DIRECTOR, CINEMATOGRAPHER
Andrea is a videographer, editor, and animator based in Chicago. In 2012, she co-founded the creative agency, Amelia Street Studio where she managed the video department and produced promotional video and digital content for clients and internal marketing.
She currently works at CAN TV as a Training Coordinator, where she directs, edits, and co-produces a monthly studio show for the Chicago Special Olympics with a crew of seven special needs athletes. She has previously served as Technical Director for CAN TV’s live studio programs.
Andrea first got her start as a production assistant on small and large-budget films, including Captain America: Winter Soldier and Kings of Summer. She honed her skills in fast-paced, on-the-ground, interview-style cinematography while working as producer and editor for the regional true-crime television series Crimestoppers/Case Files, airing on WPWR Chicago.
Previous festival screenings include the Stateless Film Festival, Akron Film and Pixel Festival, and the International Video Art and Film Festival.
Andrea graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in Digital Media Production with a focus on Video Art and Documentary. Of all the film genres, Andrea is most passionate about documentary because of its capacity for connecting with audiences on a deeper level and inviting the viewer to challenge their beliefs, values, and assumptions about the world.
Katy Osborn, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, IMPACT PRODUCER
Katy began her advertising career in 2005 working at large and small agencies in Columbus, OH and Chicago, IL. In 2012, she co-founded the creative agency, Amelia Street Studio, with her two sisters, where she oversaw client relations, business development, operations and strategy for both client and internal communications. Katy thrives as a copywriter and brand strategist, specializing in crafting messages that resonate with audiences on a human level.
Katy’s corporate brand experience includes integrated campaign account management for Kimberly-Clark brands, International Trucks, and a nationwide safety program. She honed her producer skills working on national television spots narrated by Errol Morris and promotional video content for a college safety program.
Katy attended University of Chicago for a Masters in Social Sciences, focusing on consumer psychology and ethnography. She received her undergraduate degree from Ohio State University in Social Psychology. Her schooling provided her with the critical skills for reading people and asking the necessary questions to get to the core of the issue.
Jenny Boehme, ART DIRECTOR
Jenny is a multi-award winning art director who has worked on a range of projects from branding, collateral, digital and web, animated graphics, illustration, and event marketing. She has an uncanny ability to turn off-the-wall ideas into reality, and is a creative whiz in every medium: pencil and paper, mouse and monitor, cutting knife and cardboard. She designs websites from UX to front-end, and creates and manages all design and web-related content for Head to Head. She even has expertise building small-scale sets and props from scratch, not to mention the shadow puppetry art you see in the film!
Jenny got her start in advertising back in 2006 at a design agency in Columbus, Ohio. In 2012, she co-founded the creative agency, Amelia Street Studio, with her two sisters. She graduated from Columbus College of Art & Design with a degree in Advertising and Graphic Design.
Mimi Wilcox, EDITOR
Mimi is a documentary editor, shooter and filmmaker. Along with editing the feature documentary Head to Head, Mimi is the co-editor of Kartemquin Films’ upcoming feature documentary The Dilemma of Desire (dir. Maria Finitzo), originally slated to premiere at SXSW 2020. Other credits include Mr. Gele (2018 Cleveland Film Festival), Alpha Mare (Woods Holee Film Festival), Concrete Dreams (RIDE Channel), and Uninsurable (Upworthy). Mimi attended the 2019 Points North Institute Shortform Editing Residency with her film The Sebastopol Siege. She has shot for National Geographic, Jigsaw, and feature documentaries around the world.
Natalie Chami/TalSounds, COMPOSER
Natalie Chami adopted the TALsounds moniker in 2009 for her explorations in the drone, ambient, and electroacoustic improv disciplines. Chami released her first TALsounds LP, Love Sick, with New York’s Ba Da Bing Records. Her second LP, Acquiesce, arrived in 2020 on NNA Records. Commentary on the music of TALsounds has appeared in publications including Pitchfork, NPR, The Fader, and Chicago Reader. Chami has performed across America and Canada, traveling to Europe in 2018 for a string of dates with Chicago composer Haley Fohr (Circuit Des Yeux). Head to Head is Chami’s first film composition. She is Lebanese, was born in Ontario, and lives in Chicago, where she teaches music and leads the vocal department at the Chicago High School for the Arts.
Josie Davis, IMPACT PRODUCER
Josie is the Executive Creative Producer and Founder of Curmudgeon Group, a boutique creative agency in Chicago. She is driven by the exciting seeds of ideation and collaboration that spur long but rewarding days of production in the field, and is most passionate about helping purpose-driven clients bring their brand story to life. As a conceptual artist, Josie works in a breadth of media including live performance, public art, and film. Josie holds an M.A. in Performance Studies from the Tisch School at NYU and a B.A. in Music from the Colorado College. She serves on the National Council of the World Wildlife Fund and the Board of Directors of Kindling Group, a documentary production studio. She is thrilled to be a part of Head to Head; inspired by the women who’ve pushed this film forward, sharing their stories, sweat, and tears both on and off the screen.
Tamarra Thomas, PRODUCTION ASSISTANT, ASSOCIATE IMPACT PRODUCER
Tamarra Thomas is a creative producer and director focusing on stylized photography and cinematography. She has worked in TV and four feature-length films, with publication in both magazines and books. Tamarra enjoys leading a crew of filmmakers and focuses her attention on creating meaningful stories through a meaningful lens. She attributes her ability to stay awake throughout the post-production process to her love of coffee. She wants to thank the Head to Head crew for working diligently to craft a beautiful documentary that has the potential to provoke change in our day to day lives.
POST-PRODUCTION SOUND
Alex Inglizian
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Elodie Edjang
COLORIST
Giorgia Harvey, Scrappers Film Group
TRANSCRIPTION
Jan Alberti
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Alison Marcotte
ADDITIONAL CAMERA
Hannah Schierbeek
Don Eblahan
MAJOR FUNDERS:
Kartemquin Films
Funding partially provided by Kartemquin Films Emerging Storyteller Fund Grant: supported by Sage Foundation
DCASE
Funding partially supported by an Individual Artist Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, as well as a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY:
Curt & Jan Alberti, Ted & Wendy Osborn, and hundreds of other backers. We thank you for your generous support.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
IMPACT GOALS
Our impact campaign centers around revealing the “big deal.” Our goals for the campaign are:
Spark more nuanced and textured conversations about identity, authenticity, and wellness in an effort to greatly improve the lives of tens of millions living in the U.S. facing hair loss - as well as anyone who feels ‘other.’
Create a new social ritual where individuals self-check their assumptions and biases before asking identity-related questions, proceeding with sensitivity when engaging with others.
PRESS KIT
Our press kit gives you everything you need to share the Head to Head story, from our film poster, stills, behind-the-scenes images, team and character bios, and more.
PRESS INQUIRIES:
Email: Josie Davis, Impact Producer
Email: Katy Osborn, Executive Producer
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