“You and I, we should turn the page.” Watch this official trailer for the indie drama The Man Who Sold His Skin, from Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania. This is one of the five Best International Feature nominees at the Oscars this year, an interesting choice considering the quality of all the films submitted. But I quite like this one, it’s bold and provocative in many ways. Yahya Mahayni stars as Sam Ali, a Syrian refugee who agrees to have a European visa tattooed on his back. His own body turned into a living work of art and promptly exhibited in a museum, Sam will soon realize to have sold away more than just his skin. The film is “a meeting between two worlds, it is a film about art and creation… [and] about using human beings as commodities – a Faustian pact between the privileged and the damned. It is a film that will seduce you! It is a gorgeously shot, controversial, satirical art-world, story.” Also starring Dea Liane, Koen De Bouw, and Monica Bellucci. I highly recommend keeping an eye out for this – it’s a must watch discovery.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Man Who Sold His Skin, on YouTube:
The film tells the story of Sam Ali, a young sensitive and impulsive Syrian, left his country for Lebanon to escape the war. To be able to travel to Europe and live with the love of his life, he accepts to have his back tattooed by one of by the world’s most sulfurous contemporary artists. Turning his own body into a prestigious piece of art, Sam will however come to realize that his decision might actually mean anything but freedom. The Man Who Sold His Skin is both written and directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, her second feature after directing Beauty and the Dogs, and the doc films Imams Go to School, The Blade of Tunis, and Zaineb Hates the Snow previously. The film was nominated for a Best International Film Oscar this year. This originally premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year. Samuel Goldwyn Films will release The Man Who Sold His Skin in select US theaters starting on April 2nd this spring. Interested?
