Educational Media Reviews Online

Qudad is what must be the world’s most time-consuming plaster. Made from kiln-fired limestone, volcanic cinders, and lime water, qudad requires the better part of a year to make and apply. Preparing the mixture takes months, but polishing the surface with additional lime water (and a final layer of animal fat) requires many more. The reward for all this labor is a waterproof plaster that lasts 300-500 years. Qudad is unique to Yemen.

Sound specialized? This film is even more narrowly focused than the title suggests. The film describes the process of making and applying qudad as practiced in the restoration of a specific Yemeni building: the Amiriya, a 16th-century madrasa. Apparently the workers have had to re-discover (or re-invent, according to the title) the process for themselves. The film ends with the hope that the Yemeni government will assign the 90 major restorers to other qudad-restoration projects. What’s missing is context of any sort. One wonders what information exists, if any, about how it was done 500 years ago. The film could have said why it was unique to Yemen, how long it was used, how widespread it was, or even how much the current project has cost. After watching lengthy scenes of repetitive labor, broken only by dozens of workers stating their name to the camera, along with their age, task, and number of years on the job, the viewer is hungry for information. Some context would make it much more interesting, even if it was only a discussion of the history of the Amiriya.

The technical quality was good, and the shaded band at the bottom of the screen made the subtitles much easier to read. Unfortunately, the content is stretched pretty thin to fill a whole hour, and most students will find it pretty dull. There is little commentary.

Very few educational settings would have a use for this film. Recommended for architecture libraries. Also recommended for those with an interest in plastering, unusual architectural restoration projects, or the history of Yemen.