My Name Is Susan Yee
1975 · 12m · Canada
Directed by Beverly Shaffer
Genres: coming-of-age, documentary, essay film
Tones: contemplative, humorous, whimsical
Young Chinese-Canadian Susan Yee offers her sharp, outspoken observations on adult behaviour as she moves through home, school, and downtown Montreal.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Everyone wants to celebrate a kid's 'authentic voice'—but Shaffer actually lets Susan Yee talk circles around the adults in the room without sentimentalizing her or turning her into a mouthpiece. It's a documentary that feels like it's winking at the form itself.
Shaffer's 1975 essay-film sits squarely in the NFB's tradition of formal observation and structural wit, using Susan's commentary to build a sly critique of adult hypocrisy that never condescends to its subject—a model of tonal control and narrative architecture.
The pivot from observational documentary to something closer to essayistic performance hinges entirely on how much you trust the sound design; Shaffer lets Susan's voice lead and the image follow, a technical choice that makes 12 minutes feel like genuine access rather than interview.