Hot Irons

In Detroit hair styling isnt just a matter of personal grooming its a way of life and Andrew Dosunmus documentary Hot Irons offers an inside glimpse at Motor City hair salons that turn the tresses of their AfricanAmerican clientele into remarkable works of art Dosunmu takes his cameras to Detroits annual Hair Wars competition in which stylists compete to see who can create the wildest and most outrageous hairdo Offering a stark contrast between the unique aesthetic of the stylists and the grinding poverty of inner city Detroit which never fully recovered from the 1968 riots Hot Irons shows how events like Hair Wars brings a sense of art and purpose to a community where both are often lacking