The Hairdresser
Kathleen is a hairdresser. Always has been. Always will be. Even at 83, she's still doing hair. But not in the way you would expect. Her work is special. For the last 31 years, Kathleen has been primping and pampering terminally ill patients in palliative care. In this short documentary, Kathleen reflects on her experience as we bear witness to her unusual work.
| Director | Lorraine Price |
| Actors | Yulia Kaiava, Yulia Kaiava |
| Share on |
Through her film The Hairdresser, Lorraine Price offers a beautiful portrait of Kathleen’s daily life. Beyond the care she provides, Kathleen offers a precious moment to the people she encounters. This allows us to see them for their individuality and sensitivity, rather than through the medical conditions to which they are so often reduced. For a brief moment, her presence creates a space in which they can exist differently, through gestures and expressions of care that are so often no longer afforded to them. The film captures the direct impact of Kathleen’s movements and words. As if by magic, while she carefully curls a patient’s hair in an impersonal, even dehumanizing environment, the bars of the hospital bed suddenly seem a little less cold, the gray walls a little less dull, and the colors of the framed photographs all the more vivid. More broadly, The Hairdresser draws attention to what is too often overlooked, dismissed as fanciful or superfluous, and, in doing so, highlights the beauty and profundity of Kathleen’s approach.
Yulia Kaiava
Tënk's editorial assistant
and urban planning student
-
Français
13 mn
Language: Français -
English
13 mn
Language: English
- Année 2021
- Pays Quebec
- Durée 13
- Producteur Lorraine Price
- Langue English, French
- Sous-titres French, English
- Résumé court Kathleen is a hairdresser with a particular specialty—she does the hair of the terminally ill in palliative care.
- Mention festival Special Mention · Betty Youson Award for Best short documentary · Hot Docs 2021
- Ordre 2
- TLF_Applismb_CA 1
- Date édito CA 2026-11-06
Through her film The Hairdresser, Lorraine Price offers a beautiful portrait of Kathleen’s daily life. Beyond the care she provides, Kathleen offers a precious moment to the people she encounters. This allows us to see them for their individuality and sensitivity, rather than through the medical conditions to which they are so often reduced. For a brief moment, her presence creates a space in which they can exist differently, through gestures and expressions of care that are so often no longer afforded to them. The film captures the direct impact of Kathleen’s movements and words. As if by magic, while she carefully curls a patient’s hair in an impersonal, even dehumanizing environment, the bars of the hospital bed suddenly seem a little less cold, the gray walls a little less dull, and the colors of the framed photographs all the more vivid. More broadly, The Hairdresser draws attention to what is too often overlooked, dismissed as fanciful or superfluous, and, in doing so, highlights the beauty and profundity of Kathleen’s approach.
Yulia Kaiava
Tënk's editorial assistant
and urban planning student
-
Français
Duration: 13 minutesLanguage: Français13 mn -
English
Duration: 13 minutesLanguage: English13 mn
- Année 2021
- Pays Quebec
- Durée 13
- Producteur Lorraine Price
- Langue English, French
- Sous-titres French, English
- Résumé court Kathleen is a hairdresser with a particular specialty—she does the hair of the terminally ill in palliative care.
- Mention festival Special Mention · Betty Youson Award for Best short documentary · Hot Docs 2021
- Ordre 2
- TLF_Applismb_CA 1
- Date édito CA 2026-11-06
