A film shot by top Lebanese cinematographer Christopher Aoun was just nominated for the Best International Feature Film in the 2021 Oscars.
The Beirut-born cinematographer studied the craft at the Saint-Joseph University (USJ) in Beirut and later at the University of Television and Film in Munich, Germany.
Currently based in Berlin, Christopher Aoun was also the Director of Photography behind Nadine Labaki’s Academy Award-nominated Capernaum.
In May 2019, he received the German Cinematography Award for best cinematography in feature fiction.
He has also worked with some of the biggest brands, including Hugo Boss and Comme Des Garçons as well as with international artists, such as Selena Gomez on her 2020 music video for Boyfriend.
This time, he worked on an international project directed by Tunisian Kaouther Ben Hania titled The Man Who Sold His Skin, featuring Italian actress Monica Bellucci who has starred in countless Hollywood and European movies.
It is the first-ever Tunisian film to be selected for the Academy Awards. The film won two awards in 2020 at the Venice International Film Festival, one of which was the Best Actor award that went to the Syrian protagonist Yahya Mahayni.
The film also features French actress Darina Al-Joundi who was born in Lebanon to a Syrian father. Her performance at the 2012 Avignon Festival reportedly earned her back then the speeding of her citizenship application by the French PM, Manuel Valls.
In February, Christopher Aoun was nominated again for the German Cinematography Award for the second time for this film.
“The Man Who Sold His Skin is shortlisted for the Oscars, it’s a no-budget film and we all still can’t believe it made it so far with such little means,” he wrote on Instagram at the time.
About the film
The Man Who Sold His Skin is a one-of-a-kind drama that revolves around a Syrian refugee who fled to Lebanon where he meets an eccentric foreign artist. He agrees to let him tattoo his back in exchange to be able to move to Europe in hopes to reunite with the woman he loves.
However, that would be just the beginning of a downward spiral of struggles with his loss of freedom and inevitably his sanity, going from being a person to becoming an object of exhibition.
“His own body turned into a living work of art and promptly exhibited in a museum, Sam, a Syrian refugee, will soon realize to have sold away more than just his skin,” reads the synopsis of the film.
The film has gotten outstanding comments by critics in the field, praising it as brilliant, powerful, intriguing, and captivating.
Watch the trailer below: