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Logline

A boy desperately tries to hold onto the memory of his father – and his hair.

Synopsis

A Few Perfect Heads is a coming of age animated short that tells the story of Oliver, a sensitive teenager facing his high school graduation while still mourning the loss of his father. On this milestone day, he becomes obsessed with a new bald spot—a seemingly small, cosmetic concern that quickly swells into a mirror of his deepest insecurities. Hair, in Oliver’s world, is more than vanity; it becomes a lens for identity, masculinity, and the fragile act of being seen.

Through playful yet poignant flashbacks, we revisit a cherished memory: six year old Oliver listening to his father, Geoff, share a whimsical story about losing his own hair in a storm. That moment of love and humor now feels distant, yet it lingers, shaping Oliver’s inner life. As the day unfolds, his anxieties play out in surreal, animated interludes, blurring the line between reality and his inner world. His mother, Joni, offers unwavering support, encouraging him to step into the moment and embrace himself.

At the emotional climax, Oliver faces a panic attack, imagining public humiliation. But a vision of his father- manifested as a gust of wind – offers guidance and reassurance. Geoff’s mantra, “In the whole wide world, there are only a few perfect heads. The rest are covered with hair,” transforms his fear into acceptance. With courage, Oliver removes his cap, revealing his bald spot, joining his peers in the cap toss, a joyful connection between past and present.

Seemingly about hair, A Few Perfect Heads is really about grief, self-image, vulnerability, and growing into yourself. It’s a quiet but urgent story about the insecurities we rarely discuss, and how the smallest worries can reveal our deepest truths. Tender, surreal, and funny, it invites audiences to confront what it means to be human, imperfect, and… ultimately whole.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Ben Hirschhorn — Writer/Director
Ben Hirschhorn is an award-winning actor, writer, and director. He recently starred as the lead in The Reservoir at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Other stage credits include the Off-Broadway world premiere of Room 1214 and the West Coast premiere of Trayf at the Geffen Playhouse, where he received an LA Drama Critics Circle Award nomination. He also won Best Actor at the Los Angeles Short Film and Script Festival for his performance in Practice Funeral.

A native New Yorker, Ben trained at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts before earning his BFA in Acting from USC. As a filmmaker, his projects—including Ghosted, Goggles, and the upcoming animated short A Few Perfect Heads — have all found success on the festival circuit, receiving awards and recognition at multiple screenings. Most recently, A Few Perfect Heads was named a finalist at the Academy Award–qualifying Nashville Film Festival. Across stage and screen, Ben gravitates toward stories that balance humor, vulnerability, and emotional truth. His work reflects a commitment to creating art that is both entertaining and deeply human, inviting audiences to see themselves in his characters and the worlds he brings to life.

Matt Mitchell & Jacob Paley — Producer
Matt is a Queer, Los Angeles-based artist. In 2019, he received the Humanitarian Award from the IndieFEST Film Awards for his short film, Public Life. His plays We Are Hipsters and Straight A’s were published by On Stage Press, a division of Samuel French, Inc. Matt is a proud graduate of the University of Southern California’s BFA in Acting program. As an actor, he is best known for his work on APPLE TV+’s Shrinking and Now & Then. Jacob is a two-time NAACP Image Award winning producer who has worked with networks and brands such as NBC, MTV, BET, E!, Disney, Nike and more. He graduated from the University of Southern California where he studied Photography, Design and Cinematic Arts. Jacob is also a fine art photographer that has been featured on platforms such as CNN, LensCulture, and Kodak as well as published in The Flow Trip magazine. Being exposed to a multitude of different artistic practices provides an invaluable perspective to Jacob’s creative workflow, while working on both live television productions and filmed content has given him a strong sense of what it takes to run a successful set as well as produce quality material.

Alan Chung — Art Director
Alan Chung is an animator and 3d artist specializing in visual storytelling. He has over 6 years of professional filmmaking experience and graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in Animation and Digital Arts. His years of experience growing up as a martial artist, choreographer, and dancer have allowed him to understand storytelling, performance, movement, and timing to a great extent. Some of his latest work can be found in films such as Superman, Happy Gilmore 2, Carry-On, Captain America Brave New World, and Black Adam.

Kate Burton — Joni
Primetime Emmy nominee Kate Burton portrays the pious, and shockingly murderous, Vice President of the United States, Sally Langston, on creator Shonda Rhimes wildly popular political drama Scandal. She reunited with Rhimes, following her memorable, recurring turn on Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo) mother, Dr. Ellis Grey. With more than 70 television and film credits to her name, one could easily say that acting is in her blood — but with a dad like Oscar nominee Richard Burton, it actually is.

Like her dear old dad, the Switzerland-born actress has been heralded for her ability to truly inhabit roles and draw audiences in. She has appeared in such features as Big Trouble in Little China and 127 Hours. A graduate of Brown University and the Yale University School of Drama, Burton is also a Tony nominee with an extensive theatre background. Stage credits include Hedda Gabler, Doonsbury and The Elephant Man. In 2006, she played opposite her Scandal co-star Tony Goldwyn in the Off-Broadway play The Water’s Edge.

Nolan Gould — Oliver
A talented child star, Nolan Gould proved the age-old axiom that in order to play a not-so-bright character well, an actor has to be incredibly smart. Born Oct. 28, 1998, Nolan Gould broke into Hollywood by appearing commercials and short films before ascending to screen roles in such projects as the series Eleventh Hour (CBS, 2008-09) and the feature film Space Buddies (2009).

His breakthrough came as Luke Dunphy, youngest child and son of Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil (Ty Burrell) on the Emmy-winning smash Modern Family (ABC, 2009- ). At first portrayed as hilariously dim and offbeat, Gould’s Luke was given an IQ boost when it was revealed that the actor was a real-life member of Mensa, and he proved to be one of the show’s biggest scene-stealers. Gould won a few Young Artist Awards as well as a Young Hollywood Award and, along with his castmates, shared several Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble. Buoyed by his Modern Family fame, Gould also landed a small role in the big screen comedy Friends with Benefits (2011).

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.