Skin Hunger on Film
UK 2021
Dir: Pinny Grylls
A Dante or Die release
A poignant look at our biological need for human touch.
Skin Hunger on Film is a collaboration between Dante or Die and award-winning documentary film-maker Pinny Grylls. The film follows three audience members as they interact with, and respond to, a performance installation about the power of touch - a vital aspect of humanity that so many of us didn’t realise we needed until it was restricted.
Morgan is an ex-prisoner who didn’t see any family and friends whilst in jail. Helen is a dementia care worker who uses touch to comfort and calm her patients. Francis is a leading neuroscientist specialising in the importance of touch to human development.
The restrictions on holding hands, hugging loved ones or offering physical comfort to friends and family have felt brutal over the past 18 months. Skin Hunger on Film provokes conversation about how we approach touch as we re-emerge from the pandemic and begin to live together again.
It also offers insights into how live performance and the arts are a vital tool to create shared experience and the opportunity to reflect and reconnect. Watch above now for free!
Skin Hunger on Film is accompanied by a Pay What You Decide full archive recording of the live production of Skin Hunger. Watch here.
A new beautifully produced Skin Hunger Book is also available now, read more here, or buy direct from the publisher now.
Screenings & workshops tailored to community groups are also available, unpacking the idea of touch through creative responses to the film. More details here.
- Created by Daphna Attias & Terry O'Donovan
- Directed and Edited by Pinny Grylls
- Produced by Sophie Ignatieff at Dante Or Die
- Co-Produced by Anna Snowball at Snow Films
TECHNICAL CREDITS
- Camera by Pete Emery and Pinny Grylls
- Original Music by Yaniv Fridel and Ofer Shabi
- Mixing & Sound Design by Mike Avgeros
- Recorded & Mixed at Soho Sonic Studios, London
- Live Sound Recording by Haresh Patel
- Colour Grade & Online Edit by Nevan & Alex Seery at Hijack
- Audio Description by Louise Fryer
- Captioning by Philippa Mannion
- Marketing Management by Vic Shead
- PR Consultancy by Cliona Roberts
FEATURING
- Helen Elcock
- Professor Francis McGlone
- Morgan Archer
LIVE PRODUCTION CREDITS
- Created by Daphna Attias & Terry O'Donovan
- Our Hands written by Ann Akinjirin
- The Sessions written by Tim Crouch
- Touch The Flesh written by Sonia Hughes
- Directed by Daphna Attias
- Performed by Rachel-Leah Hosker, Oseloka Obi & Terry O’Donovan
- Understudy Deshaye Gayle
- Design by Khadija Raza, Additional Design by Jemima Robinson
- Music & Sound Design by Yaniv Fridel & Ofer Shabi
- Lighting Design by Zia Bergin-Holly
- Movement Direction by Ayse Tashkiran
- Produced by Sophie Ignatieff
- Production Management by Keegan Curran
- Acting Production Management by Danny Cunningham
- Stage Management by Jenefer Tait
- Assistant Stage Management by Stefy Barton
- For Stone Nest: Inna Schorr, Hannah Myers, Richard Williamson
- Placements: Anna T. Stenberg & Sophia Enderby
ADDITIONAL MUSIC CREDITS
- Cello by Yoed Nir
- Mixing by Dom Feil-Roots from Soho Sonic
THANK YOU
Inna, Hannah & Richard at Stone Nest. Maksym Demydenko, Karina Gechtman, Ken Mulligan, Claire Du Pont, Neil Maes, Ayelet Gil, Oren Yaniv, Gillian Daniell. All the BA DATE Central School of Speech & Drama students featured.
Co-Artistic Directors Daphna Attias and Terry O’Donovan: ‘It’s so rare that we get a real insight into how theatre can deeply affect people. After 18 months of so little ‘liveness’ in our lives it feels so important to celebrate that singular experience of audience and theatre reconnecting. For us, the film is like a microscope zooming into the power of sharing spaces and stories in person’
Skin Hunger on Film, a new documentary about our need for human touch, is available for screenings & accompanying workshops now.
We're working with arts venues across the UK to share the film with their audiences. This can be accompanied by a Q&A and/or workshop for targeted community groups alongside the screenings led by Dante or Die artists. These workshops explore the idea of touch, through inviting creative responses to the film from the group and explore the creation of this 1 on 1 performance installation.
Available from November 2021 - July 2022.
More information here. Please contact our Participation Producer, Lucy at lucy@danteordie.com to discuss organising a session.
Skin Hunger on Film is supported by Stone Nest, Department for Work & Pension’s Access to Work Scheme & The Lowry and funded by Arts Council England
