They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for a curious woman who is keen to see deeper into her own, things get a little complicated – and a lot darker – in the horror-noir short KEEP YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL.
Heather (Liz Farahadi, who also wrote and produced the short) is a reasonable soul, but when she wanders into a beauty salon for a free facial she gets taken on a journey that she didn’t expect. After all, women aren’t allowed to age – are they?
Enter Dr. Buggenberg (Eva Pope), who is keen to point out that Heather does have much to improve if she can be persuaded. However, persuasion has many definitions and lines of destiny – and Heather is about to get a few more shocks in her desire to improve….
Neil Marshall reduces down to a short form narrative that is as dark in tone as his feature fan favourites like THE DESCENT and DOG SOLDIERS, well established cult favourites globally. Farahadi encapsulates all the fears and insecurities that all women feel, but we do empathise with her predicament in a fine comic noir that has already made waves on the short film festival circuit.
The undelying message – that so many of these products use child labour, are tested on animals and are destroying the environment – is presented in a darkly comic fashion that highlights the absurdity of our obsession of not wanting to age.
It’s a clever and truly hilarious film. In addition, the music (which is performed by Melanie Masson and Forbes Masson) is another level of genius. This is a film that packs a punch whilst being thoroughly entertaining.
About the film:
Writer’s Vision:
A few years ago I went for a facial that was being promoted as free.
When I arrived I was taken to a room and the first thing I was asked was what do you want to change about your face? I have always believed myself to be grounded about my looks. I am not a model and never will be yet as each flaw was emphasised and catastrophised they stripped away my confidence playing into all my insecurities that come with ageing.
I walked out of there a wreck with a bag full of expensive creams I would never use and had signed up to insanely expensive treatments I couldn’t afford. In that hour they had made me feel like the most ugly, old and disgusting version of me I had ever experienced.
I got home and burst into tears. This was an intensified experience of what we get drip fed daily through mediums such as social media and the press. The pressure to look a certain way, as if that is the basis of our value in this world.
This pressure to stay looking young and beautiful is eclipsing individuality, confidence and health, with processes involving gruelling, strict and sometimes insane regimes.
I wanted to write about my experience as it was so overwhelming and made me realise just how fragile we are to this pressure. I wanted to address these topics through humour as I think laughter is a wonderful way to take stock of life and see things in a new light. I hope this film can help us start rethinking this toxic way of thinking about ourselves and that we can start seeing the real beauty in one another without harming animals and exploiting children. We need this change in the world for a happier, more real human experience. Exploring thought-provoking themes through humour is such a powerful way to spark engaging and meaningful discussions and inspire real change.
Together we can ban these archaic cosmetic animal testing methods, there’s no place for it. The world’s largest and most influential beauty markets need to lead the way & this will come from us the consumers. If people don’t buy it, they won’t make it.
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