Rob Munday
Set in a world where bodies are swapped after sex, Mdhamiri A Nkemi’s striking sci-fi short original skin explores relatable themes of acceptance and identity through its inventive premise. Known for his impressive editing work, Nkemi demonstrates that his directorial talents are equally noteworthy in this 13-minute film, solidifying his status as a filmmaker to watch in the future.
An enigmatic short that leaves much to puzzle, original skin starts off straightforward enough, as we’re introduced to the film’s young lead as she hides under her covers scrolling through what appears to be a dating app on her tablet. However, it takes only a simple five-second title card for things to get strange, as in the next scene we suddenly find her blindfolded in her bedroom, setting the stage for the film’s unfolding mystery.
“I came up with the original concept quite a few years ago now, but I’m not sure exactly where it came from” – Nkemi discussing the origin of his narrative.
Although there are hints of an alternate universe early on, the big reveal occurs over half-way through the film, after a trippy sex/body swap scene. From that point, Nkemi’s short becomes more reflective, as the protagonist grapples with the choice of embracing her new life or returning to the way things were.
“I was feeling the pressure to figure out who I was both as a filmmaker and a person”
Citing his film school experience as a key motivator behind that short, Nkemi explains how he was “suddenly surrounded by people all older than me who seemed to have clear ideas of who they were”. Feeling the pressure to figure out who he was, “both as a filmmaker and a person”, he channeled these relatable struggles into original skin, blending them with his fascination for the fluid nature of identity.
Despite the fantastical body-swapping element in its narrative, original skin resonates with audiences through this universal experience of self-discovery. Everyone reaches a point in life where they must take a hard look at who they want to become and choose their path forward. Nkemi places this introspective journey within an extreme scenario, but sometimes it’s this kind of bold approach that can spark meaningful reflection in an audience.
Setting out to craft a contemporary piece that “spoke to the world we live in now”, Nkemi credits much of his short film’a success to his cast and crew, who bought into his “crazy premise and ran with it”. A visually striking short driven by the mesmeric performances of its two leads – Sorcha Groundsell and Olive Gray – the body swap element of the film posed the greatest challenge during production, testing both the performers and the crew.
“We spent a day in a studio experimenting with macro shots of a lot of different materials; sand, glass, even wax models of our actors which we melted on camera” – Nkemi on his body swap scene
“Over the course of the short our main characters play both themselves and then each other, so we had to figure out physical performances that would be identifiable across actors”, the director explains. To accomplish this, Nkemi arranged a series of workshops before filming began, allowing his actors to swap characters and identify “which elements of their body language could be translated over.”
With his cast prepared, the director shifted his focus to the production, particularly the body-swapping scene. Knowing he wanted to film it in an “experimental, fluid way,” Nkemi admits he spent considerable time working out the mechanics to do this. Aiming to create a more immersive experience that captured the “subjective, internal experience of body swapping” rather than just its visual aspects. To achieve this, he experimented with macro shots of various materials – sand, glass, and even wax models of the actors, which were melted on camera. Nkemi then brought in Zdravko ‘Zee’ Stoitchkov, who expertly blended these elements “in ways that felt natural and dynamic.”
With Nkemi describing the creation of original skin as a “way of establishing myself as a director and creating a calling card”, like a lot of science fiction shorts, the filmmaker already has a feature length adaption in development. However, unlike many proof-of-concept films, Nkemi’s short stands on its own, with its original storyline serving as the perfect vehicle to showcase his talents as a director.