Short Film Grand Prix Competition
US Premiere

THE BOY WHOSE SKIN FELL OFF




Patrick Collerton

Country of production: UK
Year: 2004
Language: English
Mins: 56

Production company: Yipp Films
Producer: Patrick Collerton
Cinematography: Richard Ranken
Editing: Nick Fenton
Sound: Tommy Hair, Mike Riley
Music: Kit Haigh

Source: Yipp Films
Patrick Collerton
Tel: +44 773 310 5320
e-mail: yipp@btinternet.com



Thirty-six-year-old Jonny Kennedy was a remarkable character. He suffered from a rare skin condition called Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), which meant that his skin literally fell off at the slightest touch and that he never attained adult size. When Kennedy was told he only had a few months left to live, he set out to make the most of the time he had left. He decided to work with filmmaker Patrick Collerton to document his last months. Kennedy is frank about his feelings on his upcoming death and practical about the arrangements. He reveals a disarming sense of humor despite his pain. The film features moving interviews with his friends and family, including his mother Edna who has been his life-long caregiver and faces the prospect of her son's death with mixed feelings. Whether chatting up British celebrities at a charity do, choosing a coffin with an intriguing baked-bean can motif, or deciding to live on his own, Kennedy displays an acute intelligence and an unwillingness to suffer his fate, or fools, gladly. Winner of an International Emmy, this uplifting, confounding and provocative documentary celebrates the legacy of a singular man.

Independent producer/director Patrick Collerton of the Gateshead-based production company YIPP Films won Britain's prestigious "Grierson" award as best newcomer, as well as an International Emmy for The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off . The Royal Television Society awarded it Best Independent Documentary, praising, "the excellent production values, and the sensitive mix of pathos and humour, within this memorable and moving film."

FILMOGRAPHY

THE BOY WHOSE SKIN FELL OFF (2004)

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2005 AT 2.00 PM. / CHOPIN THEATRE
SCREENING WITH I'M WITH YOU
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005 AT 9.00 PM. / GALLERY THEATRE
SCREENING WITH I'M WITH YOU
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2005 AT 7.30 PM. / BEVERLY ARTS CENTER
SCREENING WITH A LIFE WITHOUT PAIN