Currently eyeing a trip to the Academy Awards, Kaouther Ben Hania’s Tunisian drama “The Man Who Sold His Skin” has secured U.S. distribution in the meantime. A press release announced that Samuel Goldwyn Films snagged rights to the film, which has been short-listed for Best International Film for this year’s Oscars.
Penned by Hania, “The Man Who Sold His Skin” tells the story of Sam Ali, a sensitive and impulsive Syrian who leaves 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 artist. 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 film’s synopsis hints.
“’The Man Who Sold His Skin’ is a powerful film that draws you in utilizing drama and satire to tell a story that intertwines humanity and art,” said Peter Goldwyn of Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Hania added, “I am honored that Samuel Goldwyn Film is going to distribute our film in the U.S. They have a long history of successfully distributing excellent films, and I am thrilled that ‘The Man Who Sold His Skin’ is going to join that impressive list.”
In an interview with us, Hania explained that the film “is a meeting between two worlds that captivate [her]: the world of contemporary art and the world of refugees — two sealed worlds which are governed by entirely different codes.” She explained, “On the one hand, we have an established elitist world where freedom is the key word, and on the other hand, we have a world of survival impacted by current events where the absence of choice is the daily concern.”
The writer-director emphasized, “I would love for people — after watching my film — to think about immigrants and refugees as singular human beings with their own specific stories, and not as a wave or a threat without a face as [they are so often] described in mass media.”
Hania’s 2017 film “Beauty and the Dogs” was also submitted by Tunisia for consideration in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category, then known as Best Foreign Language Film.
