Open City Documentary Festival

7 – 13 September 2022
in London

Chez Jolie Coiffure + Q&A

Location Bertha DocHouse, Director Rosine Mbakam, Country Belgium, Duration 70, Previous Festivals & Awards DOK Leipzig 2018, True/False Film Festival 2019, Date Event has passed

Sabine is a Cameroonian hairdresser who runs a small salon, Jolie Coiffure, in the Matonge district of Brussels. Despite having been in Belgium for almost a decade, she is still awaiting a decision on her asylum application. This intimate portrait captures Sabine’s daily life at the salon, perfecting her craft whilst whiling away time talking and laughing with an eclectic cast of patrons and visitors, many of whom also harbour the same fears about deportation. Shot entirely within the confines of the salon, Mbakam’s engaged, attentive camera reveals the reality of life in this little known corner of the city.

UK Premiere

Screens with:
Private Black Motherhood and Public White Protest [Audio]
Stacia Brown | 2017 | USA | 13’

A Black mother counts the costs of public demonstration and political engagement for herself and her young daughter. Written, edited, produced and performed by Stacia Brown.

Supported by Wallonia-Brussels International

Followed by a Q&A with director Rosine Mbakam, hosted by Ayo Akingbade, an artist and film director based in London

Read an essay on Chez Jolie Coiffure by Tayler Montague