Zagreb Film Festival

The Man Who Sold His Skin

  • Kaouther Ben Hania
  • Tunisia, France, Belgium, Sweden, Germany
  • 2020
  • 100'

In a desperate attempt to get the money and papers to reach Europe and save the woman he loves from forced marriage, young Syrian Sam Ali accepts a prominent artist’s offer to turn his back into a work of art. Hoping it will be his ticket to freedom, Sam ends up an exhibit in museums around Europe. The romantic melodrama is a searing satire of the Western society and the arts world, inspired by Belgian artist Win Delvoye’s controversial work, as well as the first Tunisian Oscar nomination. For the role of Sam Ali, Yahya Mahayni won Best Actor at Vennice, while Monica Bellucci also makes an appearance.

 

Subtitles: EN, HR

 

Kaouther Ben Hania

Tunisian director. Studied cinema at La Fémis and Sorbonne. Her first feature, Beauty and the Dogs (2017), premiered in the Un Certain Regard program at Cannes, winning Best Sound Creation Award. Her documentary debut, Challat of Tunis (2014), opened the ACID section at Cannes, while her second documentary, Zaineb Hates the Snow (2016), premiered at Locarno, going on to win several awards.

The Man Who Sold His Skin

Director
Kaouther Ben Hania
Screenplay
Kaouther Ben Hania
Cast
Yahya Mahayni, Dea Liane, Koen De Bouw, Monica Bellucci, Saad Lostan, Darina Al Joundi, Jan Dahdouh, Christian Vadim, Marc De Panda, Najoua Zouhair, Husam Chadat
DOP
Christopher Aoun
Editing
Marie-Hélène Dozo
Producer
Nadim Cheikhrouha,Habib Attia,Annabella Nezri,Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel, Andreas Rocksen, Fayçal Hassaïri, Antoine Khalife, Anthony Muir, Philippe Logie, Philippe Faucon
Production
Tanit Films, Cinetelefilms, Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion, Kwassa Films, Laika Film & Television, Metafora Media Production, Sunnyland Film as a member of A.R.T. Group, Film i Väst, VOO & Be TV, Istiqlal Films
Festivals & Awards
Venice Int'l Film Festival 2021 – Orizzonti Award for Best Actor; Stockholm Int'l Film Festival 2020 – Best Script; Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2020; Edinburgh Int'l Film Festival 2021; Zurich Film Festival 2021

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