Ten year-old Sandra is distinctly African looking. Her parents, Abraham and Sannie, are white  Afrikaners,  unaware  of  their  black  ancestry.  They  are  shopkeepers  in  a  remote area  of  the  Eastern  Transvaal  and,  despite  Sandra's  mixed-race  appearance,  have lovingly brought her up as their 'white' little girl. 
Sandra  is sent  to a boarding school  in  the neighbouring  town of Piet Retief, where her (white)  brother  Leon  is  also  studying,  but  parents  and  teachers  complain  that  she doesn't  belong.  She  is  examined  by  State  officials,  reclassified  as  'Coloured',  and expelled  from  the  school.  Sandra's  parents  are  shocked,  but  Abraham fights through the courts  to  have  the  classification  reversed.  The  story  becomes  an international  scandal  and  media  pressure  forces  the  law  to  change,  so  that  Sandra becomes officially 'White' again.
By  the  time she  is 17, Sandra  realises she  is never going  to be accepted by  the white community. She falls in love with Petrus -- a black man, the local vegetable seller, and begins  an  illicit  love  affair.  Abraham  threatens  to  shoot  Petrus  and  disown  Sandra.
Sannie is torn between her husband's rage and her daughter's predicament. 
Sandra elopes with Petrus  to Swaziland. Abraham alerts  the police, has  them arrested and put  in prison. Sandra  is  told by  the  local magistrate  to go home, but she  refuses.
She is pregnant, and has made up her mind that her life is with Petrus now. Her father and brothers sever all ties with her, but her mother holds out hope for reconciliation. 
Now Sandra must  live her  life,  for  the  first  time, as a black woman  in South Africa   -- with  no  running  water,  no  sanitation,  and  little  income.  She  and  Petrus  have  two children,  and  although  she  feels  more  at  home  in  this  community,  she  desperately misses her parents and yearns for a reunion.
Sandra eventually hears of her  father's death and becomes obsessed with  the  idea of finding her mother. Going back to the bureaucratic institutions that determined her fate, Sandra eventually  tracks her mother down  in a nursing home outside Pretoria. Sannie has had  three  strokes and  is  very  frail -- but  the need  for mutual  forgiveness  is  very strong.  Sandra  and  her mother  have  a moving  reunion,  affirming  that  the  bonds  of family are stronger than any racial division. 
SKIN is a story of family, forgiveness and the triumph of the human spirit.


Skin,  was  shot  in  and  around  Johannesburg  from  September  to  November 2007  and  co-produced  with  Margaret  Matheson  (Bard  Entertainments,  UK)  and Genevieve  Hofmeyr  (Moonlighting  Films,  RSA).  It  stars  Sophie  Okonedo  (Oscar-nominee for Hotel Rwanda and Golden Globe nominee for Tsunami, The Aftermath) Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Piano), Alice Krige (Chariots of Fire, Star Trek), Tony Kgoroge (Hotel Rwanda, Hijack Stories) and newcomer Ella Ramangwane

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT 
SKIN is a tale of mythic proportions, which tackles the eternal human question: who am I and where do I belong.
Historical and political events and the absurdities of apartheid are all touched on by the film,  as  Sandra  Laing's  story  is  emblematic  of  the  country's  struggle  for  freedom  and transformation. However my focus remains on the personal rather than the political: this is the story of one woman's search for love, identity and family -- all lost and regained.
SKIN has an epic quality, thanks to the boundless and ancient landscape of South Africa.
The early part of Sandra Laing's life takes on the muted, restrained colours of the white community.  The  latter  part  benefits  from  the  rich  contrasts  of  life  in  the  black community and reflects Sandra's journey into colour. 
Similarly,  the  score  (by British  composer Hélène Muddiman)  acts  as  a  counterpoint  to the  story  and weaves  a  tapestry  of Western  and  African  sounds.  African  instruments such  as  the  kora,  thumb  piano  and  antelope  horn  play  alongside  traditional  western instruments  to  create  a unique  orchestration. The  sound-world  of  the  film  is  also  rich with  local  detail,  from  the  bird  and  animal  life  to  the  sounds  of  the  townships.
Although  the  story  spans  30  years,  the  film  compresses  time.  The  script's  flashback structure releases the narrative from the usual strictures of traditional biographical films: we begin with  the adult Sandra at  the end of apartheid. She  is happy  for  the country, but the ache of losing her parents has never gone away. The events from the past come flooding back, until we return to this moment and overtake it to reach the moving climax Sandra's reconciliation with her mother.

PROJECT HISTORY by Anthony Fabian 
I  first heard  the story of Sandra Laing  in July 2000 on BBC's Radio 4. British  journalist Peter White  had  gone  to  South  Africa  to  interview  Sandra  and  her  testimony  left me stunned. For days afterwards, I had a lump in my throat when I thought about her story and  realised  it had  the potential  to  touch people around  the world as a  feature  film.  I also  felt  a  tremendous  sense  of  outrage  that,  after  all  she  had  been  through,  Sandra was still living in abject poverty, while her white family had prospered. I felt compelled to make some kind of reparation, and thought a film might help provide her with long-term financial security.  Read more

THE MUSIC: COMPOSER'S STATEMENT
Director Anthony Fabian and  I have  collaborated on a  range of projects over  the past ten years, from short films to documentaries. When he invited me to write the score of SKIN, we talked about creating a soundworld that would reflect the nature and emotion of  the  story  and  give  a  clear  sense  of  time  and  place.  Using  Western  and  African instruments  (and  devising  a musical  language  that  embraced  both  traditions)  allowed me to explore a variety of styles and come up with a unique, 'world music' hybrid.  It is a luxury to work with a director who creates so many opportunities for music to be featured and for the key themes to evolve through the movie. These themes or motifs - usually  relating  to  certain  characters  or  inter-relationships,  such  as  the  Sannie/Sandra theme - reappear  in various arrangements and are orchestrated  in a variety of ways - sometimes with strings (cello and violin) other times with clarinet or piano - alongside a range  of  African  instruments,  such  as  the  birambau  (a  single-string,  percussive instrument), kalimba (thumb piano) and talking drum. Read more

Anthony Fabian - Writer/Director 
Anthony  Fabian  has  produced  and  directed  five  short  films,  four  hour-long documentaries  and  over  a  dozen  classical  music  programmes  through  his  company, Elysian Films.
Born in San Francisco, California but brought up in Mexico, France and the UK, his first feature,  Skin,  was  shot  in  and  around  Johannesburg  from  September  to  November 2007.
A graduate of UCLA's Film and Television School, Anthony worked as an opera director  for a number of years before he shot Bach & Variations, a half-hour drama, in 1994.
The film won a British Council Travel Award, and he was invited to give talks and attend festivals around the world. 
Candy,  his  first  35mm  short,  was  completed  in  1998.  The  film  stars  Lone  Madsen, Brooke  Kinsella,  Oliver  Tobias  and  Miriam  Margolyes,  and  has  been  seen  by  festival audiences  worldwide.  It  was  aired  by  FilmFour  in  the  UK  and  is  represented internationally by AtomFilms. 
Jean, a 35mm short starring Susannah York, Gyuri Sarossy and Nicholas Clay, won both the Audience and Jury Prizes in the IFILM/Planet Out Short Movie Awards, presented at the Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles in 2000, as well as Best Short Film at the Barcelona  International Film Festival  in 2001. The  film has won  several British Council Travel  Awards  and  has  been  screened  at  over  thirty  festivals  around  the  world.  The international sales agent, Sydney Neter Distribution, represents Jean. 
His  most  recent  short,  Prick  (6  mins,  2006)  stars  Mark  Gillis,  Rachel  Pickup,  Mark Wakeling and Susannah York. 
Anthony's  first  documentary, Township Opera  (2001)  features  emerging  talent  from South  Africa.  It  was  the  first  programme  to  be  transmitted  solo  on  BBC  4  and  was shortlisted for a One World Media Award. His second hour-long documentary for BBC 4, Harmony  in Hanoi,  is a  fresh  look at  contemporary Vietnam  through  the eyes of  its musicians. It premiered at BAFTA and was broadcast in March 2003. 
In the summer of 2004, Anthony Fabian produced and directed a documentary, While the Music  Lasts,  about  Batignano,  a  quirky  festival  in  southern  Tuscany which  has launched  the  careers  of  some  of  the most  successful  British  artists working  in  opera today. 
His most recent documentary for Majestic Media and Sky Television is called Embracing the Tiger and charts the history, philosophy, practice and popularity of Tai Chi. It is the first documentary every to be made exclusively about this martial art. 
Anthony's film career has led to work as Music Supervisor on a number of feature films, including Restoration, Goldeneye, Schubert and Hilary and Jackie. 
His filmography includes profiles of performers Luciano Pavarotti, Cecilia Bartoli, Joshua Bell, Angela Gheorghiu,  Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Renée  Fleming, Christophe Rousset, Olli  Mustonen, Ricard Egarr and composer John Tavener. 

Genevieve Hofmeyr - Producer 
Genevieve Hofmeyr, partner and driving force behind South Africa's premier production company Moonlighting Films,  is one of South Africa's most  respected and sought after Producers. 
Since Moonlighting's inception, Genevieve has fulfilled the role of Line Producer on many of Moonlighting's  projects  including Catch a Fire  for Working Title  Films,  directed  by Phillip  Noyce,  produced  by  Tim  Bevan  and  Robyn  Slovo  and  starring  Tim  Robbins; Racing Stripes for Alcon Entertainment, directed by Frederik du Chau and produced by Lloyd  Phillips;  Michael  Mann's  Ali  for  Sony  Pictures,  starring  Will  Smith;  and  Martin Campbell's  Beyond  Borders  for  Mandalay  Pictures  starring  Angelina  Jolie  and  Clive Owen. 
More recently, in the role of South African Supervising Producer, Genevieve participated in  Roland  Emmerich's  10000BC  and  Ed  Zwick's  Blood  Diamond  starring  Leonardo Dicaprio and Jennifer Connelly, both projects for Warner Bros. Pictures, as well as The Deal  starring  Meg  Ryan  and  William  H.  Macy,  Doomsday  for  Rogue  Pictures  and Flashbacks of a Fool starring Daniel Craig.   
Other  projects  produced,  co-produced  or  serviced  through  Moonlighting  Films  with Genevieve  at  the  helm  are  Flood  for  Power  Corp.  UK;  Ask  the  Dust,  directed  by Robert  Towne  for  Cruise/Wagner,  starring  Colin  Farrell  and  Salma  Hayek  and  The Interpreter  directed  by  Sydney  Pollack  for Working  Title/Universal  Pictures  starring Nicole  Kidman  &  Sean  Penn.  Other  credits  include  made-for-TV  Films  Avenger  for Warner Bros. TV; Home Alone 4; 12 Days of Terror for Fox TV and Red Water for Sony Pictures Television.   
Genevieve  has  recently  completed  the  South  African/UK  co-production  Skin  starring Sophie  Okonedo,  Sam  Neill  &  Alice  Krige,  which  was  in  competition  at  the  Toronto International Film Festival  in September 2008 and won  the Tri-Continents Film Festival Audience prize in 2009.   
Hailed by the Hollywood Reporter as one of the three most  influential women  in South African  Cinema  today,  Genevieve  holds  a  Bachelor  of  Arts  Degree  in  English  & Psychology  (University  of  Cape  Town)  and  an  A.A.S  (Associate  of  Applied  Science Degree) from New York State University. 

Helen Crawley - Screenplay
Listed  in  Variety  in  2006  under  '10  Screenwriters  to  Watch',  Helen  Crawley's  first speculative  script Hearts and Minds was  snapped up  just weeks after  its completion by Leonardo Di Caprio's production company, Appian Way.
Although  she  is  based  in  the  United  Kingdom,  Helen  pursues  her  writing  career exclusively  in  the  U.S.,  where  she's  establishing  herself  as  a  writer  of  complex, character-driven stories with an epic geopolitical bent.
Ms. Crawley  is one of only two Brits to be awarded a Chesterfield Fellowship, based at Paramount  Studios, which  gave  her  a  stipend  to write  two  scripts  after  she won  the graduate screenwriting prize from New York University in 2001.
She worked as a script editor at the BBC on several of Andrew Davies' miniseries such as Vanity  Fair  and  Tipping  the  Velvet  before  signing  up  for  NYU's  dramatic  writing program. That  led  to a writing  fellowship at New York's Ensemble Studio Theater, and then the Chesterfield selection.
Ms. Crawley believes her interest in political stories and the fact that she feels more at home in the U.S. than the UK film industry stems from her nomadic childhood. She was just  3 months  old  when  her  parents,  an  architect  and  a  journalist,  decided  to  leave Scotland  and  head  for  Africa.  They  spent  the  next  11  years  travelling  and  working throughout that continent - Helen feels very much at home with African stories.

Jessie Keyt - Screenplay 
Jessie Keyt is a screenwriter, playwright, and essayist in New York City.  For her work on Skin  she  drew  on  her  experiences  as  a  village  schoolteacher  in  Apartheid-era  South Africa.  Other projects include Letters from O (Wigutow Productions), based on the life of Dominique Aury, who wrote  the groundbreaking erotic novel Histoire d'O, and The Boatman,  an  original  screenplay  about  a  reclusive  flower  vendor  who  wants  to  sail around the world with a woman he delivers flowers to but has never met, for which she received a Euroscript/Media II development grant.   
Jessie currently  teaches screenwriting at NYU's Tisch School of  the Arts and  is working on  a  book  of  literary  non-fiction  based  on  the  year  she  and  her  partner  spent  on  a remote farm in Wales. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an MFA in dramatic writing from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Helena Kriel - Screenplay
Helena Kriel was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. She graduated from the University  of  the  Witwatersrand  in  Johannesburg  with  a  BA  Honors  in  Drama  and Literature in 1981. 
She spent ten years  in South Africa working  in theatre and television as a writer, actor and director. Her work was primarily in the townships of South Africa. 
She immigrated to America eighteen years ago, and in her first year in Los Angeles she won the coveted Steven Spielberg Dianne Thomas Award for writing. 
Helena has spent the last fourteen years working as a writer in Hollywood.

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