The Man Who Sold His Skin
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKaouther Ben Hania
Written byKaouther Ben Hania
Produced by
  • Habib Attia
  • Nadim Cheikhrouha
  • Martin Hampel
  • Thanassis Karathanos
  • Annabella Nezri
  • Andreas Rocksén
Starring
CinematographyChristopher Aoun
Edited byMarie-Hélène Dozo
Music byAmine Bouhafa
Production
companies
  • Cinétéléfilms
  • Tanit Films
  • Twenty Twenty Vision
  • Kwassa Films
  • Laika Film & Television
  • Metafora Media Production
  • Sunnyland Film
  • Film i Väst
  • VOO
  • BeTV
  • Istiqlal Films
Distributed by
  • Hakka Distribution (Tunisia)[1]
  • BAC Films (France)
  • Cinéart (Belgium)[2]
  • eksystent Filmverleih (Germany)[3]
  • Folkets Bio (Sweden)[4]
  • Bir Film (Turkey)[5]
Release date
  • 4 September 2020 (2020-09-04) (Venice)
Running time
104 minutes
Countries
  • Tunisia
  • France
  • Germany
  • Belgium
  • Sweden
  • Turkey
  • Cyprus
Languages
  • Arabic
  • English
  • French

The Man Who Sold His Skin (Arabic: الرجل الذي باع ظهره, romanized: ar-rajul allaḏī bāʿa ẓahrahu, lit. 'The Man Who Sold His Back') is a 2020 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. Its plot was inspired by Belgian contemporary artist Wim Delvoye's living work Tim (2006),[6] which was in turn inspired by Roald Dahl's 1952 short story "Skin".[7] It was selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards,[8] making the shortlist of fifteen films.[9] In March 2021, it was nominated for the Best International Feature Film.[10]

It premiered in the Horizons section at the 77th Venice International Film Festival,[11] where Yahya Mahayni won the Best Actor Award.[12][13]

Premise

Raqqa fiancés Sam and Abeer are separated by the Syrian Civil War. While Sam seeks refuge in Lebanon, Abeer family forces her to marry a richer man and move with him to Brussels. In the desperate pursuit of money and the needed paperwork to travel to Europe to rescue her, Sam accepts to have his back tattooed as a Schengen visa by one of the most controversial contemporary artists in the West. His own body turned into a living work of art and promptly exhibited in a museum, Sam will soon realize he has sold away more than just his skin.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

The Man Who Sold His Skin has an approval rating of 88% based on 52 professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Man Who Sold His Skin uses the tension between art and commerce as powerful fuel for a sobering story about freedom and human dignity."[14] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 64 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Academy Awards 25 April 2021 Best International Feature Film Kaouther Ben Hania Nominated [10]
Magritte Awards 12 February 2022 Best Foreign Film Nominated [16]
Stockholm International Film Festival 19 November 2020 Bronze Horse Nominated [17]
Best Screenplay Won
Venice International Film Festival 12 September 2020 Best Film (Horizons section) The Man Who Sold His Skin Nominated [12]
Best Actor (Horizons section) Yahya Mahayni Won

See also

References

  1. ↑ Elsa Keslassy (20 November 2020). "'The Man Who Sold His Skin' to Represent Tunisia in International Oscar Race". Variety. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "L'Homme qui a vendu sa peau". Retrieved 18 December 2022 – via www.cineart.be.
  3. ↑ "Der Mann, der seine Haut verkaufte". eksystent. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "The man who sold his skin | Folkets Bio". www.folketsbio.se. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "The Man Who Sold His Skin". Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  6. ↑ Ward, Sarah (6 September 2020). "'The Man Who Sold His Skin': Venice Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  7. ↑ "Een rugtatoeage in ruil voor een visum in The Man Who Sold His Skin". parool. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  8. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (20 November 2020). "'The Man Who Sold His Skin' to Represent Tunisia in International Oscar Race". Variety. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  9. ↑ Davis, Clayton (9 February 2021). "Oscars Shortlists Announced in Nine Categories". Variety. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  10. 1 2 "The full list of 2021 Oscars nominations". The Guardian. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "Kaouther Ben Hania's 'The Man Who Sold His Skin' Scores Sales Following Middle East Premiere". Variety. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  12. 1 2 Tartaglione, Nancy (12 September 2020). "'Nomadland' Scoops Golden Lion At Venice Film Festival – Full List Of Winnners". Deadline. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "Collateral Awards of the 77th Venice Film Festival". labiennale.org. La Biennale di Venezia. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  14. ↑ "The Man Who Sold His Skin - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "The Man Who Sold His Skin". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  16. ↑ "Voici les nommés de la 11e cérémonie des Magritte du Cinéma". Le Soir (in French). 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  17. ↑ "This year's winners!". Stockholms filmfestival. 19 November 2020.
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