Student Short Film AFIN 197
The Soft-Skinned
Directed by 
Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe
AFIN 2023 Nominee
- 2023
- 20m
-
Australia - English
- Drama
- War
- Historical
Stills
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Credits
Written by
Produced by
Synopsis
Corporal Kath Davison is suffering high-risk PTSD. She spends her days shooting roo's and drinking in the caravan behind her parents Melbourne suburban home. She spends her nights with random strangers. One day, a young Afghan man turns up on her doorstep: Ali Haidar. She doesn't remember him, but he remembers her. Eight years after deployment, she must face the guilt and grief of war, and her buried memories from Afghanistan.
Director's Statement
I wanted to make a personal and intimate story of friendship between two people from different worlds, who are drawn together through a shared memory. I also wanted to shine a spotlight on their two communities: Australian soldiers who were deployed to Afghanistan over the last 20 years and are suffering PTSD, and the Afghan asylum seekers in Australia who have been displaced by that same war. When the ADF pulled out of Afghanistan in 2020 the Australian veteran community raised the alarm at the fate of their interpreters who were left behind. It was this act of solidarity that inspired this story.
What makes this one special
- 3 awards at other festivalsLuleå International Film Festival, Sweden · The Setting Sun International Film Festival · Melbourne International Film Festival: MiffPLAY
- Programmed at 11 other festivalsAcross 4 countries
- Nominated for Best Emerging Female Director
- A student film
Also selected at
3 awards, 8 official selections across 11 other festivals
- WinnerLuleå International Film Festival, Sweden
- WinnerThe Setting Sun International Film Festival
- WinnerMelbourne International Film Festival: MiffPLAY
- SelectionThrough Women’s Eyes International Film Festival
- SelectionRefugee week festival screening
- SelectionSanta Barbara International Film Festival
- SelectionSt. KIlda International Short Film Festival
- SelectionWallachia Film Festival
- SelectionFlickerfest International Film Festival
- SelectionVeterans Film Festival
- SelectionVCA School of Film & TV Graduate award screenings
Recorded by the filmmaker on their entry.
Director's Biography
Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe Director
Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe is an award-winning writer/director of narrative shorts and documentary. Her work has been broadcast on SBS, ABC and screened at local and international film festivals. She won ‘Short of the Issue’ in IF magazine, and Best Film and Best Director awards for her short films: ‘Ripe’ and ‘Nell & Nugget’. Her SBS ob-doc ‘Mohamed Ali’s Happy Day Feast’ was nominated for an AFI/AACTA award for Best Documentary. She works at Victorian College of the Arts (University of Melbourne) lecturing in documentary and is a jobbing script editor, theatre director and PhD candidate.
Placings
Recognised in these categories at AFIN 2023, as announced that season.
- Best Actor Honorable Mention
- Best Actress Finalist
- Best Produced Screenplay Honorable Mention
- Best Australian Film Finalist
Official laurels
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The Soft-Skinned was an official Nominee for Best Emerging Female Director at the AFIN International Film Festival 2023, a Top 100 Best Reviewed and IMDb-qualifying festival.
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