Dalia

Hair salons, while seemingly straightforward places of business, can often be a centre for community: a space for empowerment, peace of mind and finding a piece of home. Dalia looks into the experiences of immigrant workers from across Africa that have found themselves working in salons in South Africa. With calming visuals showing the everyday life and work throughout the salon, voice over accounts contrast these with the workers’ journeys to South Africa, illuminating hidden stories and backgrounds vastly different from their current contexts. From fleeing political upheaval to joining family, each person has their own reasons for their migration and fondness for the salon as a new home. ‘Dalia’, meaning fate, shows the intertwining of stories across time and space, meeting and ending in one single, simple shared experience in the most unlikely place.