Li Xia's Salon

Omelga Mthiyane had little personal experience with the Chinese, and the Chinese she met in China had no experience whatsoever with Africans. However, before arriving in the country, she was convinced that this lack of acquaintance could be the starting point for her film.
Her idea was simple but effective. She would step into a hairdressing salon in China and ask if they could do her hair. Her African hair. She correctly thought that this would help break the ice with local people.
In this way, she got to know Li Xia, who owns a small hairdressing salon in Songzhuang, a village populated by farmers and artists, on the edge of Beijing. Li Xia turned out to be an artist too, using the salon to make ends meet financially. It was this other life that gained the interest of the filmmaker, and through Li Xia, other artists also put in an appearance.
Mthiyane worked with a small crew of recently-graduated local film students.