''Skin'' is an 11-minute

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

directed by Vincent O'Connell and starring Ewen Bremner 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological ...

. It was first screened at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

in October 1995, and was later given its

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

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 characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

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 (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

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 (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. The film's screenplay was only Kane's second work, written after her 1995 debut '' Blasted'' 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 or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youth in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide i ...

, joins in a racist attack on a

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

wedding party in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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 specifically formulated food 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 carn ...

, and scrubs off his

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, 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 processes ...

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. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

. 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

* Ewen Bremner as Billy * Marcia Rose as Marcia * Agnieszka Liggett as Kath * Yemi Ajibade 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 (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. For his role as Paddy, Brunt has been nominated in variou ...

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 English-language short films English-language crime films