''Skin'' is an 11-minute

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Vincent O'Connell Vincent O'Connell is a British filmmaker and writer of films, theatre, television and radio drama. His films as director include the 1995 film ''Skin'', starring Ewen Bremner, written by Sarah Kane, and his 2000 film, ''Beyond the Boundary'', whic ...

and starring

Ewen Bremner Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''. Early life Bremner was born i ...

and Marcia Rose. Produced by Tapson/Steel Films for British Screen and Channel 4 Films (now Film4 Productions), it was filmed in September 1995. The screenplay was written in the summer of that year by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

playwright Sarah Kane. It was first screened at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...

in October 1995, and was later given its

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

debut on Channel 4 at 11.35pm on 17 June 1997. An original airtime of 9.40pm was pushed back after television

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

s became worried about the depiction of

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

in the film, Vincent O'Connell was nominated for a Golden Bear award in the category "Best Short Film" for the film at the 1996

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

. The film's screenplay was only Kane's second work, written after her 1995 debut ''

Blasted ''Blasted'' is the first play by the British author Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. Synopsis The play is set in an expensive hotel room in Leeds. Ian, a foul-mouthed middle-aged tabloid ...

'' but before 1996's '' Phaedra's Love''. The screenplay appears in the complete collection of Sarah Kane's work, ''Sarah Kane: Complete Plays'', published in 2001 by Methuen. Bremner and Rose, who had never met prior to making the film, became romantically involved during its shooting, and subsequently had a child together.

Plot

Billy, a young

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

, joins in a racist attack on a

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

wedding party in Brixton,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, but then finds himself drawn to Marcia, a Black woman whose flat is visible from his window. He visits Marcia and the couple have sex. From this point, the power dynamic between the two begins to reverse: in separate scenes, she slaps his face repeatedly as he is tied to the bed, feeds him

dog food Dog food is food specifically formulated and intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of ca ...

, and scrubs off his

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...

s with bleach, including one of the

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

. Finally, Marcia carves her name on Billy's back. Despite his pleas, she rejects him, finding solace with Kath, her flatmate, while Billy unsuccessfully attempts to overdose on drugs and is saved by Neville, a black man living in the same apartment building as him.

Cast

as Billy * Marcia Rose as Marcia *

Agnieszka Liggett Agnieszka is the Polish equivalent of the female given name Agnes (name). Notable people with this name include: *Agnieszka Arnold, Polish documentary filmmaker *Agnieszka Baranowska (1819–1890), Polish playwright and poet * Agnieszka Bednarek ...

as Kath *

Yemi Ajibade Yemi Ajibade (28 July 1929''Africa Who's Who'', London: Africa Journal Ltd, for Africa Books, 1981, p. 82. – 24 January 2013), usually credited as Yemi Goodman Ajibade or Ade-Yemi Ajibade, was a Nigerian playwright, actor and director who, a ...

as Neville * Dave Atkins as Mother * James Bannon as Terry *

Dominic Brunt Dominic Adam Brunt (born 15 April 1970) is an English actor, director and producer, best known for portraying the role of Paddy Kirk in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. For his role as Paddy, Brunt has been nominated in various categories at t ...

as Martin * Gregory Donaldson as Nick

References

External links

The film at Film4

The film at Daily Motion
*
Director's website
{{Sarah Kane 1995 films 1995 short films British drama short films Plays by Sarah Kane Skinhead films 1990s gang films 1990s English-language films