CHEZ JOLIE COIFFURE Portrait

Inside a bustling Brussels shopping center, hair salon Jolie Coiffure has become hub to a vibrant group of African migrants. Through its tall glass windows, manager Sabine can be seen braiding hair or lending advice and support to others, their experiences a reflection of her own. Inviting filmmaker Rosine Mbakam inside, Sabine offers an insider’s perspective of a community united in cultural roots that lie elsewhere. She represents the subtlety of their shared experiences, the traumas of migration and a barely repressed anxiety that each day might signal more police raids and deportations. As if in defiance, their laughter, charm and good-natured teasing are testament to human resilience. A lovely observational chamber piece and affectionate tribute, Chez Jolie Coiffure heralds an important new voice in documentary filmmaking.