The inspiration for The Man Who Sold His Skin, nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film, is a true story –sort of.
The dark satire is based on Belgian artist Wim Delvoye’s 2007 work Tim. Delvoye tattooed the back of a man named Tim Steiner, and sold it to a collector. Steiner got one third of the sale on the condition he sit in museum galleries during exhibitions of the piece.
AND that his skin be preserved and framed for the collector after his death.
In the film by Kaouther Ben Hania, a young Syrian refugee named Sam Ali (Yahya Mahayni) becomes the living canvas, tempted by the prospect of a visa that will allow him to live in Europe to reunite with his love, Abeer (Dea Liane).
In the film Wim Delvoye becomes Jeffrey Godefroi (Koen De Bouw), who is the world’s
“most expensive living artist” who “turns worthless objects into works that cost millions and millions of dollars just by signing them.”
Eagle-eyed art collector and fans can spot the actual work of Delvoye in the museum exhibition where Sam is asked to sit for hours on end. Delvoye even makes a cameo, playing the agent who sells the collector insurance on the work.
Tim Steiner’s Wim Delvoye tattoo
Sam is thrown out of a gallery opening by art dealer Soraya (Monica Bellucci) for eating too much of the wine and cheese. But he’s tempted by the artist’s offer.
The artist character Jeffrey says after the work’s unveiling,
“We live in a very dark era where if you are Syrian, Afghan, Palestinian, and so on, you are persona non grata.
I just made Sam a commodity, a canvas, so now he can travel around the world. Because in the times we’re living in, the circulation of commodities is much freer than the circulation of human beings.”
After Sam tires being treated like an object Jeffery says,
“Sometimes I think I’m Mephistopheles.”
The artwork grants Sam access to world of art that previously shunned him but he has to endure people staring at his back at the home of the collector who buys the work –and his skin.
This is the first Tunisian film ever nominated by the Academy for best international picture, which combines the worldwide refugee crisis with a peek inside the contemporary art world.
Soraya say s to a reporter asking about Sam’s skin,
“Art, as we know, is always exploring new unexplored territories.”
Watch.
(via Artnet)