Nofinofy

“Hairdressing, is one of the finest trades: you touch the head of another human being.” When doing so, Romeo also seems to encounter fears, anger and the dreams that lend the film its title. An itinerant huis clos, Nofinofy follows this artisan as he searches for a decent place to practice his art, as he moves around Tamatave from one neighbourhood to another, from one shack to another. Over the months what does not change is that Romeo’s hairdressing salon is a place of life where (mainly) men meet, drink, tell jokes or very seriously discuss their country’s future. Because the outside world penetrates this cocoon through politicians’ speeches on the radio, which his customers dissect wondering why they let themselves be trampled on. The geographic precariousness of the salon reflects their own precarious existence as they ask themselves how they can find their place in a corrupt and unjust society, where a job does not earn you a living. The ghosts of addiction and delinquency haunt the film, threatening to upend already fragile situations. During a conversation with his young son, witness of the ambient violence, we incidentally learn that Romeo himself has been in prison. As time passes, the filmmaker gradually reveals a little about himself, slips discreetly into the frame to offer his head to Romeo and give his friend the ear and attention that he offers every day to his customers.

Olivia Cooper-Hadjian