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Directed by Alex Schaad
Written by Alex Schaad and Dimitrij Schaad
**OPENING FEBRUARY 2, 2024 IN NEW YORK | QUAD CINEMA**
**OPENING FEBRUARY 9, 2024 IN LOS ANGELES | LAEMMLE NOHO**
“A body-swap film with a difference, Skin Deep has more in common with Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster than any variation on Freaky Friday.” – Allan Hunter, Screen International
“By wielding a science fiction conceit… [and] tearing down walls of gender, sexuality, psychology, and identity itself… Schaad really ensures that we’re seeing beyond the surface.” – Jared Mobarak, The Film Stage
“A film which will intrigue most viewers and hit some like a punch in the gut.” - Jennie Kermode, Eye For Film
“An unexpected and moving portrait of love as rooted in acceptance.” – Elena Lazic, Cineuropa
Kino Lorber invites you to experience SKIN DEEP. Seeking a retreat where they can salvage their struggling relationship, young couple Leyla (Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler) travel to a remote island at the invitation of Leyla’s childhood friend Stella, where it soon becomes clear that what the island offers is more mysterious than a simple vacation. Leyla and Tristan join another couple in a ritual to exchange bodies and see the world through the eyes of someone else – a chance to find themselves or, for some of them, a chance at escape. Free from the constraints of her former body, Leyla quickly finds she has never been happier, with a fresh outlook on life and a new sense of release and fulfillment. But when she refuses to return to her old self, the situation threatens to spiral out of control. Subverting genre and gender as it toggles from body swap thriller to intimate relationship drama, SKIN DEEP tells a story that transcends bodies, embracing the endless fluid possibilities in the question of what it means to truly love someone. The film had its World Premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival where it was awarded the Queer Lion and will open in theaters via Kino Lorber in February 2024.
“By wielding a science fiction conceit… [and] tearing down walls of gender, sexuality, psychology, and identity itself… Schaad really ensures that we’re seeing beyond the surface.” – Jared Mobarak, The Film Stage
“A film which will intrigue most viewers and hit some like a punch in the gut.” - Jennie Kermode, Eye For Film
“An unexpected and moving portrait of love as rooted in acceptance.” – Elena Lazic, Cineuropa
Kino Lorber invites you to experience SKIN DEEP. Seeking a retreat where they can salvage their struggling relationship, young couple Leyla (Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler) travel to a remote island at the invitation of Leyla’s childhood friend Stella, where it soon becomes clear that what the island offers is more mysterious than a simple vacation. Leyla and Tristan join another couple in a ritual to exchange bodies and see the world through the eyes of someone else – a chance to find themselves or, for some of them, a chance at escape. Free from the constraints of her former body, Leyla quickly finds she has never been happier, with a fresh outlook on life and a new sense of release and fulfillment. But when she refuses to return to her old self, the situation threatens to spiral out of control. Subverting genre and gender as it toggles from body swap thriller to intimate relationship drama, SKIN DEEP tells a story that transcends bodies, embracing the endless fluid possibilities in the question of what it means to truly love someone. The film had its World Premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival where it was awarded the Queer Lion and will open in theaters via Kino Lorber in February 2024.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR | ALEX SCHAAD
Alex Schaad was born in Kaskelen, Kazakhstan in 1990, and moved to Germany with his family in 1993. After graduating from high school in Baden-Württemberg and doing his civil service in Munich, he worked in various positions in film, TV and theater productions, before enrolling to study film directing at Munich film school HFF 2013. His second student film INVENTION OF TRUST won the Max Ophüls Prize as best mid-length film 2016 and the Student Oscar in Gold in Los Angeles the same year. SKIN DEEP is his debut feature.
Alex Schaad was born in Kaskelen, Kazakhstan in 1990, and moved to Germany with his family in 1993. After graduating from high school in Baden-Württemberg and doing his civil service in Munich, he worked in various positions in film, TV and theater productions, before enrolling to study film directing at Munich film school HFF 2013. His second student film INVENTION OF TRUST won the Max Ophüls Prize as best mid-length film 2016 and the Student Oscar in Gold in Los Angeles the same year. SKIN DEEP is his debut feature.
