From Idea to Plan

Edmund Curtis and Michaël Boucherie went up to Scotland to view the magnificent property of Bells’ View on the Solway Coast in Scotland to vet it as a location for Where the Skin Lies. It proved to be an ideal place to develop a story about people isolated in a world slightly askew. The 1970’s decor and colours of the interior set against the lush natural environment of the Scottish Lowlands provided ample possibilities. With his background in site-specific dance work, Michaël took the unusual step of constructing the plot, with his brother David, based largely on the potential of the location, rather than the other way around. For Edmund, Bells’ View proved a cinematographic playground, allowing for inventive ways to move around its maze of rooms.

After delivery of the first draft, and intrigued by our way of working, Joy Harrison came aboard as the lead producer. You can see a short interview where Joy explains why she decided to helm our production on our crowdfunding page here.

A schedule and budget were drawn up and the next big step was organised: the casting process. Setting up shop in the Soho Theatre and Mountview Theatre School, Joy and Michaël workshopped different approaches to developing characters and relationships with some wonderful young actors who generously offered their time. An ensemble cast was selected and, in August, 2016, they went through a three-week long rehearsal process, digging deep into the previous history of the people they were asked to portray, creating and shaping their bonds, before even touching the script itself. Check out the bios of our cast in the sidebar to the right, you might find some surprises.

By the beginning of September, we were ready to move up to Bells’ View and surroundings, and start an exciting shoot. More about that in our next blog post!

And, if you feel like joining our cause in getting the movie to a theater near you, grab one of those ubercool perks we give away in our Indiegogo campaign!

Photo by Michaël Boucherie