IRISH PREMIERE
India has always been praised for her idyllic standard of beauty, from women’s saris to her skin and hair. But now, even she has undergone a Western makeover. Hair India takes outsourcing to a new level in this fascinating expose of a lucrative Indian export: hair. It begins in West Bengal where a young girl donates her hair to the temple. The hair is then sorted by an assembly line of women and sold to Great Lengths, an Italian company that sells the plaits as hair extensions to wealthy women around the world. Along the way, we meet the players, from the hair donors and dealers to Sangreeta, who represents the modern Indian working woman and the Westernisation of India’s beauty standards. Hair India effortlessly illustrates how globalisation, marketing of vanity, and traditional rituals can all contribute to create a lucrative enterprise. (Karina Rotenstein/Hot Docs)
Screening followed by Q&A with the director Raffaele Brunetti.