The story of a man who takes his skin off for his girlfriend, and why it probably wasn't the best idea...
BEHIND THE SCENES - vimeo.com/116467047
Please turn off the lights. Use headphones. Go full screen. It's worth it.
'He Took His Skin Off For Me' is a practical SFX fairytale. No CGI whatsoever. Based on the short story by Maria Hummer it is my grad film from the London Film School. It took myself and producer Fiona Lamptey 2 years, 217 Kickstarter backers and a whole lot of fake blood to pull off. SFX legend Colin Arthur (NeverEnding Story, 2001: A Space Odyssey) helped us achieve the impossible, allowing SFX Supervisor Jen Cardno and her team set a new standard for anatomical practical effects. Actor Sebastian Armesto (Anonymous, Pirates of the Caribbean) spent as long as 8hrs in makeup each day to bring this story to life. Alongside Anna Maguire (Saving Private Ryan, Parade's End) they both give us something wonderful, horrible and completely unique. I don’t want to tell people what the film should be. Even finding a genre to describe it is difficult. I want people to come to this film just like I came to the original story, completely unprepared.
If I can leave with one pearl of wisdom, though; if you take off your skin just to be with somebody? That’s only ever going to end messy…
Extra Materials
Behind the Scenes documentary (23mins) - vimeo.com/116467047
Maria Hummer reads her original story - vimeo.com/67548806
Early makeup tests - vimeo.com/67283889
Teaser Trailer (aka deleted scene) - vimeo.com/77898342
Condensed score by Mark Sayfritz - soundcloud.com/mark-dog-sayfritz/he-took-his-skin-off-for-me
FOR MORE, Check out-
hetookhisskinoffforme.com
facebook.com/HeTookHisSkinOffForMe
twitter.com/SkinShortFilm
benastondirector.com
twitter.com/BenAstonDir
ALSO, check out our other recent Sundance film and Vimeo Staff Pick 'Russian Roulette' vimeo.com/90733535 as well as our previous film 'Dinner and a Movie' vimeo.com/46071455. You can check out the wonderful writeup about the film by Rob Munday at SotW here - shortoftheweek.com/2015/01/12/he-took-his-skin-off-for-me/
AWARDS
WINNER: Best Student Film 2015: Short of the Week
WINNER: Best Production: Underwire 2015
WINNER: Audience Award: Toronto After Dark 2014
WINNER: Screentest London 2015 awards
NAMED: 21 best shorts of the 21st century - XFDR
OFFICIAL SELECTION
BFI London Film Festival 2014
Palm Springs International Shortfest 2014
Fantastic Fest 2014
London Short Film Festival 2015
Rhode Island International Film Festival 2014
St. Louis International Film Festival 2014
Cinequest International Film Festival 2015
Flickerfest International Short Film Festival 2015
Hollyshorts International Shortfest 2014
Underwire Women's Film Festival 2014
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2014
Leeds International Film Festival 2014
Brussels International Short Film Festival 2015
PLUS
Paris International Fantastic Film Festival 2014 /Thriller! Chiller! Film Festival 2014 / Nitehawk Short Film Festival 2014 /Filmquest 2015 / FEST New Directors | New Films Festival / ComicCon 2015 / Crested Bute 2015 / Stanley Film Festival 2015 / Leiden International Film Festival 2015 / Meme Pas Peur Iternational short film festival 2015 / Horror dog Hotdog Short Film Festival / Golden Anteaters 2015 / British Shorts Film Festival 2015 / Imagine international film festival 2014 / Maryland 2014 / Down The Rabbit Hole Netherlands / Noci Cortin Film Festival 2014 / Knoxville Horror Film Festival 2014