Marvin grew up in Ottawa in the 1950s. With no Black barbers in the city, he suffered through many painful haircuts. At 65, he still hates to get his hair cut.

Marvin is 65. He hates to get his hair cut.

With a modest (but expanding) grey afro on his head, Marvin's hair isn't what you might expect on a senior executive who lives in suburbia.

Marvin immigrated from Jamaica to Ottawa in the 1950s, when Black immigrants were rare and often unwelcome. With no Black barbers in the city, Marvin suffered through many painful haircuts. The trauma from this period still lingers with him today.

The Haircut is a funny and refreshing take on the classic Canadian immigrant story — but it's also an exploration of assimilation and resistance through the portrait of one man's refusal to cut his hair.