Released in French cinemas on November 29, 2023, 'La Tresse' quickly became a box office success, drawing in an impressive 1.3 million spectators. The film, also broadcast on France 2, is an adaptation of Laetitia Colombani's own best-selling novel, published in 2017. While the characters at its heart—Smita, Giulia, and Sarah—are entirely fictional, the story's powerful resonance stems from its profound roots in real-world practices and a deeply personal experience of the author-director.

The genesis of 'La Tresse' can be traced back to January 2015, when Colombani accompanied a close friend undergoing cancer treatment to a wig shop. The friend chose a wig made from natural Indian hair, a seemingly simple act that triggered a powerful memory for Colombani. She recalled a documentary she had seen years prior, which detailed how hair offered by pilgrims in Indian temples was subsequently exported and utilized in the manufacturing of wigs worldwide.

This convergence of an intimate personal moment and a previously observed, lesser-known global reality sparked the central concept of the story. Colombani envisioned a narrative that would connect three disparate women through the symbolic journey of human hair. The film thus tells the interwoven tales of an Indian woman who donates her hair, an Italian factory worker who transforms it, and a Western woman who ultimately wears it as a wig, unknowingly linking their lives across geographical and cultural divides.

Colombani's approach was not to adapt a specific true story or a particular individual's life. Instead, she constructed a compelling fiction from a lived situation and a collection of observations. This method imbues 'La Tresse' with an undeniable sense of authenticity, allowing audiences to connect with the characters' struggles and triumphs as if they were witnessing real events. The film, much like the novel it's based on, explores themes of resilience, identity, and the invisible threads that connect humanity, all grounded in a blend of imagination and real-world inspiration that has clearly resonated with audiences.