SHORTS AND TO THE POINT: Natalie Dickinson and Arianne Martin’s SKINNY balances the uncomfortable, the funny, and the horror in its look at a woman’s eating disorder
Natalie Dickinson and Arianne Martin’s short film, SKINNY, was the two filmmakers the 2018 Women Texas Film Festival’s Radical Award (representing the “most visionary” film and filmmakers at the film festival) this past August. SKINNY is an equally funny and harrowing look at a woman’s internal thoughts as she deals with her own eating disorder issues.
The film is, at turns, laugh-out-loud funny, sadly identifiable, and a literal headspace horror show. It is also important to note that the film is riveting to watch even as you really might not want to at times. The fact that it was generated by and created by Dickinson (who drew on some personal experience with the subject as inspiration and insight) and Martin, two accomplished actors with extensive film credits, informs the film you are watching. It adds additional appreciation of the depths the two women were able to mine, where a male director would likely struggle to achieve the same insight and nuance. It also excites you as to the next project(s) those two will undertake.
- SKINNY deals with a topic that is laden with emotional triggers, and in fact, the film addresses and you could say, “plays” with that aspect of anorexia. In all areas of creating the film – writing, directing, performing, editing – what were your individual thoughts on how to strike the right balance in finding both the humor and the horror of dealing with the condition, and did you initially differ in ideas regarding how to execute that?
Natalie: Our main goal from the beginning was to keep this film raw and real. And I think, when you get raw and real and dark – there’s (most of the time) humor there, too. When you’re dealing with a neurosis or mental disorder like anorexia, where you dive into these extreme, spinning thoughts that spiral out of control; when the chaos takes a breath and you come back to sanity a little bit, you reflect on where your thoughts went – and you see that your brain went some crazy places. When you step back, you see the funny in it.
In the end, I believe, when you’re balancing the seriousness of a mental disorder with humor, as long as you stay real – that’s the key, to stay authentic – I think the humor and horror of it balance out.
Luckily, Arianne and I were on the same page with the humor from the beginning. I think that’s one of the things that drew Arianne to the script. We played with ideas of executing some of the humor with more inserts and cutaways, but in the end, decided we didn’t want to take the audience out of our world in that way.
Arianne: When I first read the script, I instantly related to it. That constant roller coaster of thoughts and emotions that run through the main character’s head were very familiar to me. This was our first time working with each other in a collaborative way and we were both open to trying new things and letting the script take us where we needed to go. We would throw ideas out there and when one felt right, we’d go for it and when something felt off, we both seemed to know it at the same time. It was actually really incredible.
- You are both actors that have worked extensively prior to getting behind the camera for this film. What (if anything) surprised each of you about the experience, despite having been on countless sets and having been directed and having watched others direct from the sidelines, so to speak?
Natalie: Directing was definitely a new experience. In my head, I knew exactly what I wanted to get and how I wanted it to look and what the tone would be; but I found it a challenge to articulate every detail so the idea is captured on screen as it was envisioned.
It was so great to have Arianne as a partner on SKINNY — I felt like she shared the vision from the very beginning. I actually wrote this a year before we shot, not sure if it made sense outside of my head, but as soon as Arianne read it, she got it and said, “we’re making this.”
Arianne: I originally started in the film industry with the intention of becoming a director. I made a few student shorts in my early 20’s, but “accidentally” fell into acting and ended up finding a passion for performing that I didn’t know existed inside of me. Fast forward many years later, and that itch to direct could no longer be ignored. I saw SKINNY as a way to ease myself back in. It’s definitely a different muscle to exercise, but it feels very natural to me. I think having so many years of experience in acting and producing helped immensely. I guess what surprised me the most about this project in particular was how in sync Natalie and I were throughout the whole process. We just clicked.
- SKINNY won the 2018 WTxFF Radical Award (Most Visionary). So, what were the initial thoughts when it was announced (Natalie) and when you first heard about it (Arianne), and what does that mean for each of you now that you’ve had a little while to think about it?
Natalie: I was so surprised! I was listening to Justina describe the Radical Award – she was saying such great things like, “this film made me uncomfortable but at the same time I could relate to it,” and “it was both hard to watch and also really funny…” I was sitting there going over in my head the short films I saw at the festival, wondering which one it could be, and when she said, SKINNY, my head exploded, and then I almost cried. I was so incredibly excited and honored – we were in brilliant, talented company, so the fact that our little short film resonated with people the way that it did was the most incredible feeling.
Now that I’ve had some time to think about it — it makes me want to continue to make films! The most inspiring thing for me was being told by such a varied group of audience members that they could relate to SKINNY. And I definitely know this film is only the beginning of my partnership with Arianne. I was familiar with her work and I’ve wanted to work with her for so long! I can’t wait for our next project.
And I’ve got to give a shout out to Patrick Johnson, who helped bring our vision to life with his stellar cinematography.
Arianne: Is it too cliché to say I was shocked? It was such a surprise and an honor to be a part of this festival to begin with, given the excellent reputation they’ve been able to establish so quickly. To me, it felt like the validation I needed to say, “Hey…maybe I can do this. I do have a voice, I do have a vision and there is an audience out there.” Thank you so much to the everyone at the Women Texas Film Festival for that. To quote Sally Fields, “You like me, you really like me!”
- Both of you appeared in the film as well as having co-directed it. How did you compartmentalize the usual vanity or image-conscious concerns every actor goes through as you focused on your depiction while serving the overall needs of the film?
Natalie: We both were super on-board with throwing our vanity out the window for this one. As women in this industry, we are constantly judged on the way we look. We wanted this film to be relatable and genuine, and we wanted to highlight the mental and emotional focus of this story, so we checked our egos at the door and stayed true to our vision of rawness and honesty.
Arianne: We both went into this project with the commitment to be real and to be vulnerable. This is a very personal issue for Natalie. She’s lived with it and knows first hand what its like. It’s not pretty. The goal from the very beginning was to show the ugly underbelly of the disorder. Natalie trusted me and I trusted her.
- Who pushed for more takes, wanted to look at the edit one more time before signing off on a sequence, annoyed the other with 2AM phone calls and texts about another “idea”, etc?
Natalie: I’m thinking about this and honestly I think we split it down the middle! We balanced each other out really well. When I would get frustrated or feel like things weren’t working, Arianne was the one who would help me readjust, and keep us on track toward our vision. As actresses, we both pushed for more takes!
Both of us continued to throw out new ideas throughout the whole process until the very end. For example, the shots with Creepy Craig’s List guy — we put in and took out and put in and took out – trying to decide if it confused the story or gave it more layers. In the end, we went with the Creepy Craig’s List layers.
Arianne: It’s challenging to make a film on a zero-dollar budget. Everyone had to work their day job to survive and sometimes the project had to take the back burner. We would tag team it when the other got too overwhelmed with day to day responsibilities. Not to say we didn’t have good days and bad days, but I think our strengths AND weaknesses complimented each other in the whole process. But if you really want to know the “skinny”…I think Natalie asked for an extra take like once.
- Popcorn or Candy?
Nataile: Candy – chocolate or gummies!!! But if you have popcorn, I will probably end up eating some of yours.
Arianne: Definitely popcorn smothered in all kinds of shit!
Natalie Dickinson and Arianne Martin’s SKINNY balances the uncomfortable, the funny, and the horror in its look at a woman’s eating disorder