The short film, Unbraided, follows Frankie (Aleah Quiñones), whose hair braider cancels on her mere hours before having to leave for a wedding. Alongside her friend, Jo (DaMya Gurley), Frankie faces the ultimate challenge of finding someone, anyone, in all of Los Angeles to do her hair! What follows is a funny, heartfelt, and relevant journey showcasing a very real experience many Black women experience.

Written and directed by Caroline Renard, Unbraided has deservedly received widespread praise since its premiere at Santa Barbara International Film Festival, even winning Outstanding Comedic Short at the 2024 Micheaux Film Festival. We recently had the honor of sitting down with Caroline, to discuss her journey from growing up in Miami to working her way up in the writers room in Hollywood, and the cultural importance of allowing Black women to tell their own stories in front of and behind the camera.

Sarah Abraham: Hi, Caroline! It’s so nice to meet you. I know we follow each other on socials, but tell me a little more about you, and how you started writing and directing?
Caroline Renard: Caroline Renard. Writer and director. Originally from Miami, Florida, born and raised. I’m a first gen Haitian-American, youngest of five.Big, loud, Caribbean family. I went to Florida State University and I think, my entire life I’ve always kind of knew I wanted to do something in the entertainment business, which is kind of opposite if you’re a child of immigrants, where all your parents want you to do is “practical jobs” or something that they understand such as a doctor, lawyer, things like that. I’ve always known I wanted to do something in the entertainment business. At first, I was pretty sure I wanted to do acting, and that’s because when I was little, I was obsessed with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. 

Sarah Abraham: Me, too!
Caroline Renard: I think every millennial and elder Gen Z, the Olsen twins were our girls, right? 
Sarah Abraham: I had a calendar! 
Caroline Renard: Yeah! Everything! Backpacks, like, they were just IT! Then, you go from there to, like, Hilary Duff. We were very blessed with that young group of child stars. I was just like, “Oh! I want to do what they do.” Growing up, I went to a performing arts high school. Around that time, I started really paying attention to people like Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Mindy Kaling specifically because they were writing their own parts, and I wasn’t getting any of the school plays that I wanted. I was just like, “Oh, that’s what you have to do; You have to write, especially if you’re not a stereotypical blonde hair, blue eye, size zero, type of person.” Then in college, I thought being in the industry was not a realistic thing. I thought, “I’ll go to law school.” So, I was a pre-law, political science, African American studies major, but halfway through college, I was miserable so I went back to writing. After I graduated, I made my way out to Los Angeles, did what everybody does, as far as trying to make it any assistant jobs in the industry, non industry jobs, extra work, anything. I worked my way up, was still auditioning, but slowly fell out of love with the acting part of things.

I was reminded of people like Issa Rae, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Michaela Coel who were all coming up at that time and that if you really want to control your career, you have to be more than just an actress. So, I got a writer’s assistant job, a show runners assistant job, and just worked my way up. Eventually, I got a staff writer job. I had honestly never thought about directing, but when I got my first professional “big girl” writing job, I realized that I was a little control freak. When writing, I just write the script, give it showrunners, and that’s it. I don’t have more to do, which is partly why the writers guild went on strike, where it was the writers weren’t being allowed on a stage. For me, it sparked something where I needed to be more than just the writer. I need to be more involved. I’m very opinionated. I’m a fire sign, Type A, and have such a clear vision of what I want things to look like inside and out. I don’t really like the feeling of just handing my work over and being like, “Okay, well, I’ll see it when it’s done.” My showrunners at the time were very kind to let me be in all the pre production meetings and I love those meetings. I love talking to everybody like the heads of departments and watching it all come together. I shadowed so many people and eventually wrote two shorts and eventually made this short..and that’s where we are now! 

Sarah Abraham: I love all of that. I’m also a Florida girl, I’m from Orlando. Barry Jenkins, one of my favorites ever, also went to FSU. 
Caroline Renard: Barry Jenkins is my Holy Grail. He’s from Miami as well, so when Moonlight came out, that was also the first time I was really paying attention to movies, and not just simply watching the movie. I was genuinely looking at the cinematography, framing, listening to the score, all that stuff. Following Barry’s career and knowing he’s where I’m from, like him and my sister went to the same high school! When I went to FSU, I had heard about Barry because he graduated from there before me. He’s truly one of the first directors I really paid attention to. I’m probably going to cry the first time I ever meet him. 

Sarah Abraham: I…love that man. I could talk about him all day. But, we are here to talk about Unbraided, your incredible short film. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed it. How did you come up with the story and what’s the significance of it for you? 
Caroline Renard: I think when I was tackling what to write, I wanted to create something specifically for black women. Originally, I just wrote this fun – I don’t know if you just saw that trailer for the new Keke Palmer movie, One of Them Days, that has a very 90s, black comedy feel to it? I grew up on films like Friday, B.A.P.S., all of those. I really wanted to do something very reminiscent of black 90s films, because those are the films that shaped me. At the time I had just watched the “Barbershop” episode of Atlanta and I wanted to answer it. As I developed the story more, I really started thinking about how much we present ourselves as black women specifically with our hair and getting it done is crucial to our identity. I started thinking about how, unfortunately for black women, so much of our trauma and our pain is tied to our hair and how it has to be done. You have to be presentable and it all starts from childhood. There’s a moment when Frankie and Jo, characters in Unbraided, are discussing why it is so important that Frankie gets her hair done. It’s about from the moment you are a young black girl, you can’t walk out of the house without your hair being done. It’s a much bigger story. But, as I said earlier, I’m a comedy girl.

I wanted to make it funny so I tried to layer so much nuance into this short film that shows how it’s more than just getting our hair done, for black women. Every black woman, we all have a horror story about someone canceling on us last minute. Getting our hair done is a process. It’s not just washing your hair and that’s it, right? Wash days take a whole entire day! That’s why it’s called “wash day.” When you’re going to get your hair braided, it’s like six to eight hours of your day, not including the prep you did beforehand. You plan your life around it, including vacations! It’s such a thing for us, and specific for us as black women. That was the catalyst of, like, “Well, how do I make all of that into a short?” 

Sarah Abraham: You foreshadowed one of my later questions…
Caroline Renard: Oops!
Sarah Abraham: I actually think this can be a good segue! Okay…so the scene where the white woman comes into the salon made me lose it. I was laughing but also had second hand embarrassment for her. Similar to what you were talking about, an intergenerational trauma that exists within black women and their hair and how it’s a part of your culture. It’s very different from how I view my hair. For black women, it’s culture and identity, and it’s also dependent on where you are in the country or maybe where your ancestry comes from. When that white woman came on screen, it reminded me of…how do I say this without being mean? 
Caroline Renard: Go for it!
Sarah Abraham: It reminded me of people, specifically white women, that want the aesthetic, what they may view as a cultural aesthetic. Except, they don’t want to be black; they want to be mixed race or appear racially ambiguous. I don’t know if that was your intention with that character, but for me, that’s what it made me think of. It was very light hearted and fun but at the same time, I was like, “Dang, this stuff really happens and people just allow it.” 
Caroline Renard: That’s exactly what it is. You hit it in the head. We see it all the time, right? All these white celebrities and they get called out, produce an apology note, etc. It’s become exhausting having that conversation over and over again about why braids and certain things are very intrinsically a part of black culture. For me, I just wanted to make a joke about how, like you said, people want a lot of the black culture without being black, without the pain and the trauma and the struggles and all that stuff that comes with it. They want the aesthetics of being a black woman and don’t want to take on any of the stuff that black women have to go through in this country. I did want to find a light hearted way into it because, for me, it’s a joke, and black hairstyles never look good on white women’s hair. I also did want to circle back at the end, with black hair stylists being like, “If I have to do this, why not make some money?” I feel that any person from a marginalized group knows that feeling of, “We’ve already told you all why this is harmful.” The joke at the end is like, “We all should just start getting reparations against these people. If they want to co-opt our cultures, why not make a bag?” 

Sarah Abraham: It’s also, like, what exactly the woman was wearing when she walked into the salon, and she was trying so hard to be Jo and Frankie’s friend. I don’t think that type of behavior will ever stop. She probably thought her hair looked so good and was like “Oh my god, they’re going to think I’m so cool!” 
Caroline Renard: Yep! I’m really sad because we did have to cut down some of her scenes. 
Sarah Abraham: Please release the extended cut! I also really loved the colors of the short, especially the lighting. You could see everyone so clearly and all the actors were glowing. I loved how everyone is in bright colors and the interior decor was just as vibrant. I also just about lost my mind when Monique Coleman showed up in her shop. How did you go about setting the visual style of this film? 
Caroline Renard: I wanted to figure out who’s directing style for a comedy I really gravitated towards and the first person that kept popping up in my head was Wes Anderson. You watch one of his films and it pops with color. I kept thinking of Wes because I really love his style and I also don’t get to see black women ever be involved with those kinds of movies. I also thought about Boots Riley and Spike Lee, especially in Spike’s earlier films. 

Sarah Abraham: The colors in Do the Right Thing really pop! 
Caroline Renard: Yes! Wes was the main person because I just love the colors in his movies, the lighting, the shot choices…he’s one of my favorite directors. I want to do the black version of Wes Anderson. I know a lot of people are always like “Why can’t we have more people of color in ‘so and so’s films?” For me, I just think that we can do it ourselves. I love Wes, and he’s a North Star for me, but we can do it, too! I just remember doing my look book for Unbraided, talking with my DP, my producers, costume designer, everybody! I told them Wes was my inspiration but we don’t need to try and copy him exactly. 
Sarah Abraham: I love that answer.
Caroline Renard: I will say, I love Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg too. Spielberg doesn’t know it yet, but he’s my grandpa in my head. If you’re reading this Mr. Spielberg, I would love to be mentored by you! Everyone keeps asking me, “What kind of director do you want to be?” I want to be a black woman, Spielberg because he does everything, all genres. I also think it’s important to acknowledge that white male directors aren’t the singular pinnacle of talent with filmmaking. There are so many amazing women and people of color behind the camera. We have Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, like the talent is there. I love when people do things and lift up their community and bring them along, like a Quinta Brunson or an Issa Rae. I want to do that with my filmmaking. 

Sarah Abraham: I love that you mentioned lifting up the community because I think it’s crucial when the subject of a film or tv show is about a specific group that they be represented in front and behind the camera. You mentioned Quinta and Issa, both of whom I adore, and you see that in other cultures. Within my culture, the Arab community, I really admire what Ramy Youssef did with his tv show, Ramy. He intentionally hired so many Middle Eastern/North African talent and helped his co-star, Mohammed Amer, launch his own show called Mo.
Caroline Renard: Yes! I love the show, Mo. I was mindful going into Unbraided about who I got on the team. My producing team were women, same with the camera crew. All but one of my heads of departments were women. I wanted to also prove that if “little ol’ me’” could create a short film where 97% of my cast and crew were diverse, bigger directors can do the same. 

Sarah Abraham: I agree. I also think there needs to be room for film critics of marginalized communities being allowed the opportunities to cover films about their culture. Even me, talking to you about this short film depicting the lived experience of black women, I’m very mindful about respecting and appreciating the cultural differences. I don’t know, I think that’s lacking from many discussions of film. 
Caroline Renard: No it is, and you’re doing great. 

Sarah Abraham: Why, thank you. I really loved how in the last scene, when Frankie is getting her hair braided, the camera angles made it seem so intimate. You could sense a nervousness that comes with trusting someone new with something so sacred, such as your hair. I don’t even know how I could vocalize a similar feeling to that – 
Caroline Renard: No, that’s exactly what we wanted to capture! My DP, Sade Ndya, worked really hard for that shot. It was pure indie filmmaking at its best! We put her on a box and had a drape all around it. I also think, whether you’re black or white, I feel like women and getting our hair done that’s such a personal relationship. This feeling of always having to be on and be presentable. All women, we have that struggle. That’s why, the first thing you do after a breakup is cut your hair, right? Or get bangs! With that last scene of Frankie finally getting her hair done, I wanted the close ups and for it to feel as intimate as possible. I wanted it to be slow so the audience could feel that alongside her. I also want to give credits again to Sade, my incredible DP. 
Sarah Abraham: It was truly a beautiful scene. 
Caroline Renard: Thank you so much. 

Sarah Abraham: Do you have any new projects that you’re working on right now that you could dish on? 

Caroline Renard: Yes, I have! We are very early on in the stages of trying to raise funds for my next short film which is a romantic drama! It’s about a proposal and the aftermath that follows because you don’t see that often. But in this one, the woman is with what on paper seems like the perfect guy, but she can’t say yes to marrying him. I really want to be able to do it all in one take, so we shall see when it starts. I want to play with this idea of it feeling like a movement piece. I also have something I’m pitching with a friend of mine. We actually had a pitch yesterday so fingers crossed! There’s lots of things in the fire but nothing really going just yet. 

Sarah Abraham: Where can people watch, Unbraided? 
Caroline Renard: We’re still trying to figure out some distribution deals after its festival run, but early next year hopefully! 

Sarah Abraham: We will definitely share it! I’m so excited for you. I just think you are so talented, hilarious, and such a good person. Congratulations on Unbraided and for everything you have and will succeed in. I’m still getting the hang of interviewing people and you were just lovely.
Caroline Renard: Thank you so much for interviewing me! This was one of my first interviews too, so we’re figuring this out together. We can look back in a few years and laugh at how young we were! Congrats on everything for you too. You’re doing such a great job!