Experiencing Interruptions?

The Soft-Skinned

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.

  • Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe
    Director
    Ripe (Foxtel/Cinemedia) Mohamed Ali's Happy Day Feast (SBSI)
  • Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe
    Writer
    Ripe (Foxtel/Cinemedia), Nell and Nugget, A Gentleman's Game
  • Anastasia Charisiou
    Producer
  • Phoebe Graham
    Producer
  • Hannah Monson
    Key Cast
    "Kath"
  • Kamran Haidar
    Key Cast
    "Ali"
  • Susanne "Rudie" Chapman
    Key Cast
    "Roma"
  • Barry Mitchell
    Key Cast
    "Brian"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, war, historical
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 10, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Arri
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - The Victorian College of the Arts
  • VCA School of Film & TV Graduate award screenings
    Melbourne
    Australia
    October 5, 2021
    VCA
    Best Film, Masters - Narrative 2021
  • Flickerfest International Film Festival
    Sydney
    Australia
    January 22, 2022
    Australian premiere
    Official selection
  • Veterans Film Festival
    Sydney
    Australia
    November 5, 2022
    Official selection
  • Melbourne International Film Festival: MiffPLAY
    Melbourne
    Australia
    October 5, 2021
    Best Film: VCA Masters Narrative
  • Santa Barbara International Film Festival
    Santa Barbara
    United States
    February 11, 2023
    North American premiere
    Official selection
  • The Setting Sun International Film Festival
    Melbourne
    Australia
    May 13, 2023
    Best Australian Drama, Audience Choice Award, Best Actor (Hannah Monson)
  • St. KIlda International Short Film Festival
    Melbourne
    Australia
    June 10, 2023
    In Competition, WIFT Selection Screening
  • Refugee week festival screening
    Ballarat
    Australia
    June 18, 2023
    Q&A with filmmaker
  • Luleå International Film Festival, Sweden
    Luleå
    Sweden
    September 3, 2023
    Best Director - Short Film
  • Wallachia Film Festival
    Wallachia
    Romania
    September 15, 2023
    Romanian
  • AFIN International Film Festival
    Brisbane
    Australia
    October 25, 2023
    Queensland
    Best Female director: nominee, Best Australian Actor: Hannah Monson, Best Australian Actor: Kamran Haidar
  • Through Women’s Eyes International Film Festival
    Sarasota, Florida
    United States
    March 9, 2024
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • https://www.wearemovingstories.com/we-are-moving-stories-films/2023/3/2/the-soft-skinned
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe

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.

Add Director Biography
Director 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.