Skin

SYNOPSIS

Based on a true story, this festival favourite charts the almost unthinkably dramatic life of Sandra Laing (Sophie Okonedo), a dark-skinned girl born to white parents in apartheid-era South Africa. She is not considered "different" until she is abused at boarding school, her staunch father (Sam Neill) then has to go to court to prove his daughter's white heritage. But Sandra's physical appearance and a relationship with a black man create further strains within her family, throwing the injustice of apartheid society into sharp relief. Neill and Alice Krige, as Sandra's mother, turn in solid performances, but it is Okonedo's calm, careful work that wrings emotion from the quietly told tale. Writer/director Anthony Fabian keeps the dramatic peaks and troughs to a minimum, giving dignity to Sandra's sensational life story.