NFB Bares ‘Skin for Skin’ on Streaming

Kevin D.A. Kurytnik and Carol Beecher’s multi-award-winning short Skin for Skin, produced by the National Film Board of Canada and Fifteen Pound Pink Productions, has launched on streaming platforms free of charge. The darkly allegorical film is available on NFB.ca, Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo, where it has been anointed a Staff Pick.

Synopsis: In 1823, the Governor of the largest fur-trading company in the world travels across his Dominion, extracting ever-greater riches from the winter bounty of animal furs. In his brutal world of profit and loss, animals are slaughtered to the brink of extinction until the balance of power shifts, and the forces of nature exact their own terrible price.

Producers for the film were Bonnie Thompson (NFB) and Beecher (Fifteen Pound Pink Prod.), with David Christensen executive producer for NFB’s North West Studio, based in Edmonton.

Skin for Skin has won 10 award to date, including the Special Distinction Award at the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival; the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film (Animation) at the Edmonton International Film Festival; Best Overall Short and Audience Favourite, Alberta Short at the Calgary International Film Festival; and Golden Sheaf Awards for Best of Fest and Best Animation at the Yorkton Film Festival.

Calgary-based writers, directors and animators Kurytnik and Beecher have been exploring the art and craft of animation for 30 years. Since founding Fifteen Pound Pink Productions in 1994, they have collaborated on 15 films and earned more than 20 awards.