Skin (Couleur de peau) to Close the 6th Montreal International Black Film
Festival

MONTREAL, Sept. 2 /CNW Telbec/ - Director Anthony Fabian's SKIN (Couleur de peau) will close the 6th edition of the Montreal International Black Film Festival (MIBFF) on Sunday, October 3 at Cinéma Impérial. The director will be in attendance for the screening of his film. Émile Castonguay, Programming Director for the MIBFF, is very proud to be presenting this film during the Closing Night festivities. "It's a real honour for us to close the 6th edition of the Festival with this film, which stars Oscar-nominated actress Sophie Okonedo, and to welcome director Anthony Fabian to Montreal. SKIN, an Official Selection at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival and winner of more than 18 awards worldwide, tells a true and heart-rending story that will be sure to move everyone who sees it. This film is a must-see," said Mr. Castonguay.

The film is based on a book about Sandra Laing entitled When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race written by New York journalist Judith Stone. Filmmaker Anthony Fabian was so deeply moved by Sandra's incredible life-story that he decided to buy the film rights from Sandra in 2000.

And what a story it is. The film depicts the life of Sandra Laing, who was born in 1955 during South Africa's Apartheid era. She should have been born on the "right side" because her parents were white Afrikaner shopkeepers. Now, there was a Black person in her ancestry and the combination of genes gave her a mixed-race appearance. At age ten, she was expelled from the White school by the police and reclassified as "Coloured." A victim of the absurdities of the system, she officially changed colour two more times, but, disowned by her father, she chose to live amongst the black South Africans in the precarious townships. Sandra will spend her life being torn between two worlds and struggling to find her own identity. SKIN is a story about family, forgiveness and the triumph of the human spirit.

In an interview with La Presse, Anthony Fabian said, "For me, this is a universal story. It talks about the cruelty that humans can inflict on each other and about the racism that still exists in South Africa and in the U.S." Concerning his participation in the Festival, he added: "I am delighted and honoured that SKIN has been selected to close the Montreal International Black Film Festival. Montreal is a great international city, full of culture. My first short film, Bach and Variations, was edited under the guidance of one of the city's sons (and a personal hero) - master filmmaker Denys Arcand - and was selected by the Montreal International Film Festival. I am thrilled to be returning now for such a prestigious event around my first feature and look forward to the warm welcome of the multicultural Quebecois community."

The Montreal International Black Film Festival, presented by the Fabienne Colas Foundation in collaboration with Global Montreal, is delighted to give the public the opportunity to attend this screening. Tickets are available at: www.ticketpro.ca.

    
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For further information: Carla Beauvais, Media Relations Officer, [phone], [email protected]