The Beard
2011 · 6m · Canada
Directed by Yaz Rabadi
Genres: drama
Tones: dark, provocative, tense
An elderly man is targeted and victimized because of his physical appearance — specifically his beard — and must find a way to navigate his difficult circumstances in this drama co-produced by Rabid Pictures and Fraction Films.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Rabadi treats restraint as a political act — by refusing to editorialize and simply observing what happens to this man on screen, the film implicates the audience rather than lecturing them. The NFB backing signals institutional faith in a genuinely difficult subject.
Five and a half minutes of an elderly man victimized for his beard — a metaphor for racial profiling that wants its visual signifier to carry the weight without spelling it out. The instinct is good. The runtime tells me it's a sketch, not a film.
Yaz Rabadi uses a visual signifier — the beard — to carry the whole weight of cultural prejudice without spelling it out. The displacement is the discipline. Modest scope, real subject.
Festivals
- CBC Short Film Face Off 2013