Award of Excellence – “Skin” (USA)

Title: Skin
Runtime: 22 min
Country: USA
Director: Audrey Rosenberg
Placement: Award of Excellence
Competition: September 30, 2019

Synopsis: An isolated queer teenager in traditionalist, small-town Massachusetts struggles to navigate adolescence in a world that seems to thrive on pushing them out. Imprisoned in a body that feels wrong, and disconnected from any real sense of intimacy, Charlie hits puberty, a seemingly inconsequential milestone which turns into a dark, surreal adventure into an underground cave they discover through the drain of their bathtub. In the cave, Charlie is presented with the opportunity to sew another skin onto their body; there, they get to see what about life will change when seen through a new, perhaps more fitting, pair of eyes. Skin explores how one rejoins the lost or hidden parts of their identity with their reality, and unites a fragmented sense of self.