Dolapo Is Fine

This movie finished before a realized it was a short movie. It is a story about stereotypes, what you choose to believe and being yourself. Dolapo is a young and brilliant high school girl who is enthusiastic about working in Finance in the city. She is mentored by a black lady who already works in the city and believes there are certain appearances that will be accepted or welcomed in the city. She advises Dolapo about her hair and her name.

After an embarrassing occurrence at school, Dolapo made a decision to be herself....reverting back to her previous hairstyle and walking gallantly to the city for her interview.

It's a funny movie and I'll recommend it if you're looking for something quick to watch.

Contrary to what the other reviewer says: I care. This film isnt just about a girl deciding between different hair styles, in fact it's more than that. Dolapo is told that in order to succeed in her dream profession its "assimilation first" she must get rid of her afro and use a whiter sounding name. Yet when Dolapo tries to conform, using the name Dolly and buying herself a wig we find that her character is becoming more uncomfortable with the idea of conformation to the white-centric workplace. The film wants you empathise for the character as you want her to succeed but not at the cost at her own identity and in my opinion it succeeds in doing so, and especially thanks to Dojin Ajiboye's acting.

In the end she must choose whether to follow the advice she was given by Daisy and conform or decide to stand out from the crowd and show off her true hair and heritage. This film is a very sweet and honest film with a lesson about identity at the heart of it. I would definitely recommend watching it and I'm excited to see more from the people involved!

Greetings again from the darkness. How much of one's self should be sacrificed or compromised to chase dreams? Dolapo is a Nigerian native attending a posh boarding school in the UK. She wants to pursue a "good" position in Finance at a top-notch firm in the city. Since she knows little of that world, she meets with a mentor for guidance.

Daisy (Joan Iyiola, also the film's co-writer) is a hardcore mentor. She advises Dolapo (Doyin Ajiboye) to change her afro hairstyle, improve her clothes, rehearse better interview answers, and even change her name. Daisy calls this "assimilation" and positions these changes as matter-of-fact necessities. Dolapo is frustrated, yet puts forth the effort.

Director Ethosheeia Hylton and co-writers Joan Iyiola and Chibundu Onuzo serve up a 15 minute short film that touches on stereotypes and identity, as well as 'no-harm-meant' racism by even the closest of friends. How do we hold on to who we are at a time when the world is telling us we need to "fit in"? The film is well made and Ms. Ajiboye delivers a nice performance in this film sure to spur conversation and debate.

Dolapo is Fine is a breath of fresh air! It tackles an important and culturally significant topic with a lightness that makes it an enjoyable watch from start to finish. The characters were all super relatable. This could easily be made into a feature - and I'd love to see it!

Whether it's your hair or something else, conforming to someone else's ideal can be problematic, as we see in this story. Also the good camera work and acting made me want to stick around till the end.