Kicking down the celluloid closet door

As far back as 1997, filmmaker Broderick Fox was receiving substantial recognition and awards for his work. But in 2005 he was found unconscious on the Berlin subway tracks, injured from the fall and with a lethal blood alcohol level of 0.47. Lucky for him, strangers pulled him to safety.

Broderick had been given another chance at life. Forced to acknowledge how empty and unhinged his life had become, Fox made a very big decision. One that took him on a journey of body, mind and spirit. Initiating an unusual collaboration between himself, a Canadian indigenous Kwakwakan artist (Rande), and an African-American tattoo artist (Zulu), Broderick sets himself on the path to turn his life around. Read full article

THE SKIN I’M IN Has World Premiere at the Byron Bay International Film Festival as ACON Fundraiser

The World Premiere at the Byron Bay Film Festival was extraordinary. Screening was a fundraiser for ACON, Australia’s leading LGBT health service organization.

Marie from ACON Northern Rivers introduces The Skin I'm In at the Byron Bay International Film festival premiere — Marie from ACON Northern Rivers introduces The Skin I’m In at the Byron Bay International Film festival premiere

Marie, the director of ACON Northern Rivers began the evening with a “welcome to country” acknowledgment that we were on Arakwal Aboriginal lands and as guests, share a responsibility for its custodianship. This sensibility, along with the spirituality and connectedness of Byron made this a pretty unbelievable place to launch the journey of THE SKIN I’M IN.

Here is a link to a digital “welcome to country” that played before many of the festival’s screenings:

World Premiere of THE SKIN I’M IN

World Premiere of The Skin I’m In

The Thursday 8^th March evening programme at Byron Bay International Film Festival offers its audience a World Premiere. The Skin I’m In is the latest film from Broderick Fox, an established and award winning US filmmaker. The fact that he’s chosen this World Premiere for Byron is very special. What’s even more impressive is that he’s flying all the way over from Los Angeles to join with ACON in presenting this special first screening. For those of you who don’t know, ACON is the largest community-based gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) health and HIV/AIDS organisation in Australia. They promote the health and wellbeing of the GLBT community, people with HIV, and support for people at risk of or affected by HIV, including sex workers, people who use drugs and the family and/or carers of people with HIV.

Screening with The Skin I’m In are short films Hold on Tight and Simply Rob. An evening full of empowering entertainment focused on the challenges and realities faced by countless people within every community. Read full article

“The Skin They’re In” Professor’s Film Fosters Discussion of Tattoos on Campus

The Skin They’re In

By Jacob Surpin

After last week’s premiere of Professor Brody Fox’s documentary, THE SKIN I’M IN Jacob. sat down with six tattooed Tigers and asked them to share the stories told by their ink. Read Full Article

Images From the Feb. 22 Preview Screening of THE SKIN I’M IN at Occidental College

2012-0222_B.FoxFilm-094 — Photo from the first screening of Occidental College Professor Broderick Fox’s feature documentary “The Skin I’m In”, Feb. 22, 2012 in Oxy’s Thorne Hall, Los Angeles, Calif. followed by a Q & A. Brody’s personal story addresses contemporary questions about identity, diversity, social justice and global citizenship. (Photo by Marc Campos, Occidental College Photographer)

200 students, faculty, staff, alums, and community members turned out for the preview screening of THE SKIN I’M IN at Occidental College on Feb. 22. The film was met with a standing ovation for Fox, who then conducted a Q&A with attendees, which elicited interesting questions about self-exposure and social justice in the digital age.

Attendees then joined members of OCEAAN (the Occidental College Entertainment and Arts Alumni Network) at The York bar for a reception and mixer.

Screening of ‘Skin I’m In’ more than skin-deep

Art and the power of transformation in Professor Broderick Fox’s newest documentary

By Vivien Reece

Identity is not a fixed thing, according to Fox. “There is that myth of the one harmonious individual,” Fox said, alluding to the idea that people should all look and behave similarly. This false idea of a single ideal identity caused him pain and confusion growing up and even through his documentary project. “A lot of heartache came from a search for identity. But identity is changing; there is no fixed destination,” he said. Just like art, Fox said, “Identity is a form of play and experimentation. We are always performing and changing, and there is a joy in that too.” Read full article

BBFF & ACON present the World Premiere of The Skin I’m In

ACON Northern Rivers are the co-presenters of Thursday evening’s programme at the festival. Showcasing the films The Skin I’m In, Hold on Tight, and Simply Rob, it’s an evening full of empowering entertainment focused on the challenges and realities faced by countless people within every community. Read full article

THE SKIN I’M IN sneak preview screening at Occidental College

A nice writeup on the preview screening of THE SKIN I’M IN at Occidental College: http://www.oxy.edu/news/occidental-host-professors-film-premiere

“I would love to make this advance screening an event that brings together all members of the Occidental community along with the alums and community partners I’ve worked with over my time at Oxy,” Fox said. Fox has been teaching at Oxy since 2004 and enjoys keeping in touch with many of his former students.

February 22, Thorne Hall 7-9:30 PM on the Occidental Campus: 1600 Campus Road LA, CA 90041

Professor Brody Fox talks about his tattoos, their meanings, and how they’ve helped him in his life’s journey.

Advance Screening of Powerful Film

Professor Brody Fox talks about his tattoos, their meanings, and how they’ve helped him in his life’s journey.

Chances are you know someone who has a tattoo. You may not know they have it, but there are enough people in the U.S. who have them that you know at least one of them. Have you ever asked someone about why they got the tattoo they did? What it’s meaning was? When I’ve done it, I’ve gotten a mixture of responses from “I don’t know, I just think it looks cool” to “I wanted to commemorate my cousin/sibling/friend who died in Afghanistan.” Other people have used it to mark a struggle. Professor Brody Fox has gotten a tattoo or two in his life and with much more intentionality than most people. Read full article

I KNEW HIM becomes campaign video for RAINN.org

I KNEW HIM, a 2007 video of mine that challenges preconceptions of rape and sexual assault has received some interesting and important recirculation this winter. The video played the festival circuit and was nominated for the Iris Prize, the world’s largest LGBT media prize, back in 2007. Then this month, in light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s gender-neutral redefinition of rape, RAINN, the Rape and Incest National Network picked up the video as part of a new online outreach campaign.

The video has since been discussed and reposted in a range of online community contexts including the interdisciplinary University of Minnesota-based blog The Society Pages.

It’s heartening that the piece has become a tool and a catalyst for cultural debate, a phenomenon distinctly afforded by the Internet and the digital age.