Skin (2018 short film)
| Skin | |
|---|---|
.png) Film poster | |
| Directed by | Guy Nattiv |
| Screenplay by | Guy Nattiv Sharon Maymon |
| Story by | Sharon Maymon |
| Produced by | Guy Nattiv Jaime Ray Newman[1] Andrew Carlberg Tim Harms |
| Starring | Danielle Macdonald Jackson Robert Scott Jonathan Tucker Ashley Thomas Lonnie Chavis |
| Cinematography | Drew Daniels |
| Edited by | Yuval Orr |
| Music by | Brian McOmber |
Production companies | New Native Pictures Studio Mao |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures [2] |
Release date | August 23, 2018 (HollyShorts Film Festival) |
Running time | 20 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Skin is a 2018 American short drama film, directed by Israeli-born filmmaker Guy Nattiv. Co written with Sharon Maymon, the film won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 91st Academy Awards, marking distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures' first win in the category.[3][4]
Nattiv's full-length feature Skin, also released in 2018, is not related to this film in terms of their narratives.
Plot[edit]
A white family enjoys a visit at a lake with friends. Their tattoos imply the group are Neo-Nazis. Jeffrey (Jonathan Tucker) brags that his son, Troy (Jackson Robert Scott) can shoot a target with a rifle and takes bets on the challenge. Troy successfully shoots the target.
The group heads to a grocery store, where Christa (Danielle Macdonald) shops for food. In the checkout line, Troy sees an African-American man, Jaydee (Ashley Thomas), holding a toy. Troy and the man smile at each other. As Jaydee is checking out, Jeffrey notices the interaction and accuses Jaydee of messing with his boy. Jaydee denies it, and Jeffrey calls him a racial slur. Jaydee leaves, telling Jeffrey that he is the problem.
Jeffrey tells his friends about the dispute, and they follow Jaydee into the parking lot. Jeffrey and his friends beat Jaydee viciously while Jaydee's wife frantically calls the police from her car nearby. Troy watches the incident from the store as Christa frets. As the group leaves, Jaydee's wife holds him in the parking lot. Troy looks out the car window and makes eye contact with Jaydee's son, Bronny (Lonnie Chavis), who is nearly the same age.
The next evening, Jeffrey and Troy are driving home and find a van blocking the road. Jeffrey walks up to the van to make them move, but a group of black men abduct him as Troy runs after the van. Jeffrey is taken to the garage of a home, where several black men and Bronny drug and tattoo him over several days. Jaydee is there recovering.
Some time later, Jeffrey is thrown naked onto the same road where he was abducted. He sees his reflection in a window and finds his skin tattooed completely black. Inside their home, Christa wakes up to the sound of someone outside. She nervously loads a handgun and calls for help. Jeffrey attempts to wash his skin clean with water but fails. Christa orders Troy to hide under the bed and not come out.
Jeffrey forcefully enters his home. Christa, seeing what appears to be a naked, black man in her home, warns him to get out or she will shoot him. Jeffrey manages to communicate to Christa who he is, and she drops her weapon. A shot rings out, and Jeffrey collapses. Troy stands in the doorway behind Jeffrey, holding a rifle.[5]
Cast[edit]
- Jonathan Tucker as Jeffrey
- Danielle Macdonald as Christa
- Ashley Thomas as Jaydee
- Jackson Robert Scott as Troy
- Lonnie Chavis as Bronny
- Shelly Francisco as Savannah
- Johnse Allende Jr. as Idris
- Zeus Campbell as Malik
- Jared Day as Adrian
- Sam Dillon as Nasty Nate
- Ronnie Tyrone Lee as Tyree
- David Maloney as Timmy
- Jahdai Pickett as Draymond
- Katie Ryan as April
- Michael Villar as Slayer
- Bruno as Boss
References[edit]
- ^ "Oscar-Nominated Short 'Skin' Acquired By Fox Searchlight". Deadline Hollywood. 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Fox Searchlight Explains Plans to Distribute Oscar-Nominated Short Film "Skin"". IndieWire. 11 February 2019.
- ^ "Short Film Live Action Nominees". Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ ""Skin" wins Best Live Action Short Film-Oscars". YouTube.
- ^ "SEARCHLIGHT SHORTS | SKIN | dir. Guy Nattiv | 2019 Academy Award Winner Best Live Action Short-Fox Searchlight". YouTube.
External links[edit]
- Skin at IMDb
- Skin at Rotten Tomatoes
