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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, September 20, 2013 | 24 Loss won't stop local filmmaker from chasing dream by Scott Stewart Oakville Beaver Staff Artscene "Connected to your Community" Even though he didn't win CBC's recent Short Film Faceoff competition, Yaz Rabadi is not giving up on his dream. The Oakville native's film, The Beard, was one of three films in contention for a $40,000 prize in the competition. Voting was held over a 24-hour period August 30-31. "There's a bit of disappointment there, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't," he said after the results were announced. "It was an opportunity to acquire significant funding for my feature film and it didn't pan out." Rabadi said his film would be about gun violence rooted 30 years in the future. The 28-year-old said the competition has allowed him to get more exposure out of the film, and it is opening dialogue and conversation on the issues it addresses. Rabadi, who grew up in Oakville and attended Munn's, Montclair and White Oaks schools, said he had an inkling he'd do something artsy with his life. "I always knew I'd end up in the arts, though I wasn't sure in what medium," he said. "I took to dramatic arts in high school and for a while that was where my focus was, but all the while I was learning about filmmaking and directing. After graduating from Toronto's Ryerson University, Rabadi found himself apprenticing for renowned Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan. "I think the biggest thing I took away from watching Atom work was how valuable an asset calmness is," noted Rabadi. "Atom made it all seem so easy. I never saw frustration or indecision. It was always constant control and momentum pushing things forward. It was great to see. Along with that, to see the mechanics of a larger feature film was a great learning experience." Rabadi said the idea for The Beard came from a few different places. The first was a documentary he saw years ago about the persecution of Sikhs after 9/11 as a result of their physical appearance. "Between that film and a few personal experiences of racism, it all just came together," Rabadi said. "It wasn't necessarily all that hard. It's a rather simple idea, but in its simplicity I feel there is a strong message of non- conformity and being true to oneself in the face of opposition." Rabadi said the film is about staying true to yourself and who you are. Roughly halfway through the movie, the lead character is shown to have been the victim of a brutal assault. The decision to add the assault wasn't one Rabadi made lightly. "Initially, I didn't even want to show the attack. I simply wanted to show the aftermath," he said. "I felt that is where the focus should be. I didn't want to give the attackers any attention, because this wasn't about them, it's about the victim and how he has to deal with the situation." Context was the sole reason Rabadi opted to show the attack. "Here, you have a really old man, and while his face does the talking in the film, one might question what exactly happened. An attack? An accident? A fight? I feel through the action he seemingly takes in the film, one would speculate, but with films, shorts especially, it's best to be clear and to the point." Starring in the film is Sam Moses, a veteran actor who has appeared in Ghostbusters, Moscow on the Hudson and 16 Blocks. Landing an actor of this calibre was a lucky break for Rabadi, as ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) put Rabadi in touch with Moses. "He read the script, we met, and the rest is history," Rabadi said. "I think there was a chemistry and camaraderie of some sort when we met. He understood the nuances of the script -- he got it all, it just clicked. It's great when that happens. Working with Sam was a delight in every sense of the word." The film was shot during a 12-hour period in late December 2010. Rabadi calls night shoots both "awesome and exhausting." "The film is an intimate piece -- so the fact that the crew was small, that we were shooting on location in a tight isolated area, that we had move on gut instinct and didn't have time to over-think or second guess... All that paid off. What you see at the end is something very raw Filmmaker Yaz Rabadi, who spent his formative years in Oakville recently competed in a short film contest and honest," he said. conducted by the CBC. While he didn't win, his film The Beard, earned Rabadi a great deal of notoriety. The film can be viewed at https://vimeo. | submitted photo com/23141658. A special Thanks to our Sponsors! Renowned comedienne Mary Walsh is bringing her one-woman show Dancing With Rage to the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts on Wednesday (Sept. 25) at 8 p.m. Walsh, best known for her work on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, will deal with the rage generated by pop culture, politics and capitalism in her own unique way, and will do so with help from the vast array of characters in her repertoire. Under the guise of Marg Delahunty, Warrior Princess, Walsh has tangled with the likes of Stephen Harper, Jean Chrétien, Don Cherry and Rob Ford. Walsh's credits include the films Mambo Walsh coming to Oakville Centre Italiano and Geraldine's Fortune, and has appeared on Royal Canadian Air Farce, The Greatest Canadian and Republic of Doyle. In 2012, she received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Though best known for making people laugh, Walsh has also served as spokesperson for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Walsh herself suffers from macular degeneration. Tickets are available at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts box office at 130 Navy St., by phone at 905-815-2021 or online at www.oakvillecentre.ca.