Face The Music
Yousef, a performing artist, lives a life in the shadow, hiding his disfigured face after a serious accident. Not until he is faced with further hardship, will he confront his fears and step up to the light.
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Saeed RashedDirector
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Saeed RashedWriter
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Saeed RashedProducer
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Gregory UnrauProducer
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Zaid Abu HamdanProducer
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Ahmad HasanKey Cast
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Rima IskandaranyKey Cast
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Mohanad RefaatKey Cast
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Yehya SalahKey Cast
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Lana AlbeikKey Cast
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Thomas KochanczykAssistant Director
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John HaddadDirector of Photography
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Waleed Al MadaniCamera Operator
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Rashed Al AgroobiComposer
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Hind Al AminArt Director
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Lana AlbeikSet Design
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Khamael Al NuaimiSet Design
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Mike GoldschmidtEditor
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Jana JarrarEditor
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Alicia GonzalezExecutive Producer
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:8 minutes
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Completion Date:September 30, 2016
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Country of Origin:United Arab Emirates
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Country of Filming:United Arab Emirates
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Language:Arabic
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Zayed University Middle East Film FestivalAbu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
May 1, 2017
World Premiere -
Arab Film Festival RotterdamRotterdam
Netherlands
October 12, 2017 -
International Short Form Film Festival
Serbia
September 28, 2017
International Premiere
Distribution Information
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Image Nation Abu DhabiRights: All Rights
Saeed Rashed was born in September 1991, in Abu Dhabi. Acting was the foundation of his passion for filmmaking. While acting, Saeed grew an obsessive interest for the craft of filmmaking and decided to teach himself how to write scripts and draw inspiration from the works of his heroes such as Denis Villeneuve (Enemy), Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) and Lars Von Trier (Dancer in the Dark). A couple of years later he was introduced to Arab Film Studio. Face The Music marks Saeed’s official directorial debut.
AFS has given me the opportunity to be the auteur of my first short film ever, which has been a dream come true. I was looking for a message to deliver and wrap up with a story that would wear it perfectly. There lies a big responsibility in expression, and a film is a language I thrive to speak fluently. I sought to find a dark, yet digestible way to discuss self-acceptance, and sometimes there is no better approach than a dramatic one to touch people on a deeper level. Face The Music tells a story about Yousef, a progressive metal musician who struggled to accept himself for all the wrong reasons after losing his face, a mistakenly valuable tool for a performer, to a tragic accident. I attempted to craftily fit the components of Acceptance, Love, Sacrifice, and the Intangible in one context, and I hope I succeeded.