2021 Filmmaker In Residence
Zelda Volkov is a wig-seller and Instagram wigfluencer in Crown Heights, Brooklyn—the heart of the ultra-religious Chabad Lubavitch movement that requires married women to cover their hair in accordance with their faith. Zelda opened her wig salon to redefine the wig as a symbol of individual expression that empowers the wearer. Frequented by influencers and Hasidic glitterati, her salon becomes known as a destination for glamorous, beautiful, and unexpected wigs, as well as a gathering place for conversations about freedom of expression. But when Zelda gets divorced—a rarity in her community—she reconsiders selling women something she no longer believes in wearing herself. She wants to take off her wig in search of a more authentic life, but understands the complications of making that decision. How will she live comfortably in her neighborhood wigless? How will it affect her business and the reputation of her family, including her three young daughters? Will she need to completely rebuild her identity from the ground up? Zelda struggles to find answers in this gripping story of a woman taking control of her own life, and risking everything in the process.
Lauren Greenhall is a filmmaker who makes character driven documentary and off-the-wall comedy content. She has directed TV and video for CBS interactive, National Geographic, The New Yorker, The New York Post, the Huffington Post, Inside Edition, and more. Her documentaries focus on larger-than-life individuals who are not regularly understood or celebrated by society at large. Her comedy work pokes fun at mainstream pop-culture and politics to reveal the nonsensical and sometimes harmful messaging that our institutions circulate.
Project description and bios courtesy of the Resident