The Soft-Skinned
Corporal Kath Davison is a mess, post-Afghanistan. Then a young asylum seeker turns up at her parents' house.
Interview with Writer/Director Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wanted to shine a spotlight on two separate communities: Australian soldiers who were deployed to Afghanistan over the last 20 years and are suffering from PTSD, particularly female veterans, who served in combat roles for the first time. Then there are the thousands of Afghan asylum seekers in Australia, living on temporary protection visas, who have been displaced by that same war. The possibilities of these communities meeting, learning about each other, even just sharing a kebab, a shisha and their stories of Afghanistan – as our actors and advisors did - feels right.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It's a very contemporary Australian story, with a lens on the fallout from our longest engagement in any war. It's also a showcase for four beautiful performances; and the debut of the very talented young Afghan-Australian actor; Kamran Haidar, the son of a refugee who arrived by boat.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I wanted to make a personal and intimate story of friendship between two people from very different worlds, who are pulled together through shared memory.
‘Soft Skinned ‘ is the term for the un-armoured vehicles used by the Australian Army in Afghanistan, but it also speaks of the two characters in this story; Kath and Ali; a soldier and a refugee, both bruised and scarred by that war.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
My background in documentary set me up as a committed researcher. I spoke to veterans and asylum seekers from Afghanistan, looking for stories and anecdotes of connection between the two communities. I interviewed female veterans in the course of a video project with DVA (Dept. of Veterans Affairs) and was shocked by their stories of coming home with moral injury, PTSD and mental ill-health - and the lack of support available. The script emerged from this context, an imaginary military family dynamic, and a friendship that 'could have happened'. Once my cast; both actors and non-actors, joined the team, we developed this dynamic further, through long-form improvisation. The dialogue was informed by these filmed improvisations and tweaked by my veteran advisors. We filmed in the breaks between covid lockdowns which, interestingly, gave the film an incubation period that deepened the world of the characters.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
'This is a staggering film and I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to see more. The Soft-Skinned needs to be expanded. It's masterful work whose themes and ideas bleed off the screen well beyond the theater. We need more time with these characters because they have stories to tell and we need to hear them. One of the best films at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and 2023 as well.
Highly recommended. Steve Kinane, UNSEEN FILMS, NY - http://www.unseenfilms.net/2023/02/the-soft-skinned-2022-santa-barbra.html - Winner of the Margaret Lawrence award for Social Justice (VCA 2021)
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I received feedback on the 1st draft of the script: which included references to alleged war crimes committed by Australian SAS forces in Afghanistan. A veterans organisation asked me to remove those references till after the investigation and trial had taken place. They impressed on me that suicide amongst veterans was at epidemic proportions and it was not the time to be publicly damning all returned soldiers. I agreed.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I am ready, along with many of the creative team, to make a longer form version of this story - that takes us both forward and backward in these two characters' stories.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We would love to find a producer who is passionate about nurturing this project and finding support for a feature/series version of this story. I would also love to hear from distributors, film festival directors and journalists who love the short film and want it to be seen!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Firstly to move an audience with the healing power of unlikely, and unusual friendship.... then to open their hearts to the stories of asylum seekers and young returned service men & women who have come home, so broken, from their time in Afghanistan & Iraq.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Who benefits from war? Who comes away from war unscathed? Who decides what makes a 'hero'?
Would you like to add anything else?
https://softskinnedfilm.squarespace.com
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am writing a feature comedy about fame and its pitfalls.
Interview: March 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
The Soft-Skinned
Corporal Kath Davison is a mess, post-Afghanistan. Then a young asylum seeker turns up at her parents' house.
Length: 20:00
Director: Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe
Producer: Phoebe Graham & Anastasia Charisiou
Writer: Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe
About the writer, director and producer:
NICKY TYNDALE-BISCOE is a writer/director who is drawn to stories of cultural difference and connection. Her work has been broadcast on Australian television and screened at local and international film festivals. She won ‘Short of the Issue’ in Independent Filmmaker magazine, and ‘Best Film’ and ‘Best Director’ awards for her short comedy: Ripe (Cinemedia/Foxtel). Her VCA post-graduate film The Enigma of Bradley Barnet won the Fuji Hanimex award for best director and her AFI award-nominated documentary; Mohamed Ali’s Happy Day Feast was broadcast to acclaim on SBS and in festivals around the world. Her recent short: Nell and Nugget, was the winner of the ‘audience choice award’ and ‘best cinematography’ at the Global Film festival on Homelessness
Key cast: Kamran Haidar (Ali Arman), Hannah Monson (CPL Davison), Rudie Chapman (Roma Davison) Barry Mitchell (Brian Davison)
Looking for: producers, journalists and distributors
Facebook: Softskinnedfilm
Instagram: @softskinnedfilmaus
Hashtags used: #afghanasylum#veteranwomen
Made in association with: VCA School of Film & Television
Funders: Margaret Lawrence Social Justice Award, Australian Cultural Fund