An Exercise in Creative Writing
At the start of Skin the film’s title is revealed in letters cut out of a black background. The letters advance towards the viewer growing larger and larger and the opening scene of the film – a 1994 election-day celebration - is revealed through them in high angle. It is an early alert to the fundamental role skin and skin colour will play in the story. It is as if everything will occur as though a filter of skin, or within a frame defined by skin.
This is an exercise in creative and biographical writing. The task is to tell your life story ‘through’ your skin.
It is an opportunity to describe your skin – precisely. Maybe not every square-centimeter, but use it as a map to your life and experiences – revealed in its marks and colours and calluses.
