diff --git a/src/face_watch.rs b/src/face_watch.rs
index 272ed8f..42c6128 100644
--- a/src/face_watch.rs
+++ b/src/face_watch.rs
@@ -415,22 +415,36 @@ fn try_auto_bind(
 /// Pulled out for unit testing — the same `PathExcluder` /memories uses,
 /// just applied at the face-detect candidate set instead of the memories
 /// listing. Skip @eaDir / .thumbnails / user-defined paths before we burn
-/// a detect call (and Apollo's GPU memory) on junk.
+/// a detect call (and Apollo's GPU memory) on junk. Also drops anything
+/// that isn't an image file — the backlog drain pulls every hashed row in
+/// `image_exif`, which includes videos; sending those to Apollo just
+/// produces `failed` markers and inflates the FAILED stat.
 pub(crate) fn filter_excluded(
     base: &Path,
     excluded_dirs: &[String],
     candidates: Vec<FaceCandidate>,
     library_name: Option<&str>,
 ) -> Vec<FaceCandidate> {
-    if excluded_dirs.is_empty() {
-        return candidates;
-    }
-    let excluder = PathExcluder::new(base, excluded_dirs);
+    let excluder = if excluded_dirs.is_empty() {
+        None
+    } else {
+        Some(PathExcluder::new(base, excluded_dirs))
+    };
     candidates
         .into_iter()
         .filter(|c| {
             let abs = base.join(&c.rel_path);
-            if excluder.is_excluded(&abs) {
+            if !file_types::is_image_file(&abs) {
+                debug!(
+                    "face_watch: skipping non-image path {} (library {})",
+                    c.rel_path,
+                    library_name.unwrap_or("<unknown>")
+                );
+                return false;
+            }
+            if let Some(ex) = excluder.as_ref()
+                && ex.is_excluded(&abs)
+            {
                 debug!(
                     "face_watch: skipping excluded path {} (library {})",
                     c.rel_path,
@@ -507,8 +521,8 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn filter_excluded_empty_rules_passes_all() {
-        // Skip the PathExcluder build entirely on the common path where
-        // EXCLUDED_DIRS is unset — saves an allocation per pass.
+        // EXCLUDED_DIRS unset still lets every image through — only the
+        // PathExcluder is skipped, the image-extension gate still runs.
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
         let base = tmp.path();
         let candidates = vec![cand("a.jpg"), cand("b.jpg")];
@@ -516,6 +530,25 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(kept.len(), 2);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn filter_excluded_drops_videos_and_non_media() {
+        // Backlog drain pulls every hashed row in image_exif (videos
+        // included). Videos must never reach Apollo — opencv can't
+        // decode them, every call would 422 and write a `failed` marker.
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let base = tmp.path();
+        let candidates = vec![
+            cand("photos/a.jpg"),
+            cand("photos/clip.mp4"),
+            cand("photos/clip.MOV"),
+            cand("photos/notes.txt"),
+            cand("photos/b.heic"),
+        ];
+        let kept = filter_excluded(base, &[], candidates, Some("test"));
+        let kept_paths: Vec<_> = kept.iter().map(|c| c.rel_path.as_str()).collect();
+        assert_eq!(kept_paths, vec!["photos/a.jpg", "photos/b.heic"]);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn read_bytes_passes_through_for_jpeg() {
         // JPEG goes through plain read — we DON'T want to lose orientation