Beneath The Surface With Skin Diver Creator Katya Abedian | Part One

This episode of Orms Air, the Orms Podcast is split into two
parts, this is part one. 


Join us as we dive beneath the skin of Katya Abedian;
writer, producer and director of breath-taking short film Skin
Diver. 


Referred to as an ode to the tender hearted, this coming-of-age
short film sheds much needed light on the power hidden beneath
the surface of the empathic at heart who are unapologetically
themselves. 


In this episode Jess Semple the producer of Orms
Air takes the lead in the conversation and discusses Katya’s
pre-production, shooting and post-production from one filmmaker
to another.


Haven’t watched Skin Diver? We would highly recommend that
you do. Preferably on a screen bigger than your smartphone! It
can be found on Vimeo with a simple title search or by
following this link. 


In Part One of this episode Katya mentions:


The cast and crew of Skin Diver in order of reference;



Liam Solo, Cinematographer for this short film whose
work can be found here.


Tony Gum, who plays Amazi and whose work can be found
here.


Demi Van Der Westhuizen, who plays Saffron.


Thami Cumngce Giyose, who plays the young girl at the
open and close of this short film.


Holmes Awa, Editor & Colourist for this short film
whose work can be found here.


Caroline Mackintosh, who shot the underwater scenes for
this short film and whose work can be found here.


Max Richter, whose piece On The Nature of
Daylight which you will recognise throughout this short
film and whose work can be found here.


James Harvey, whose original score plays throughout this
short film.


Daniel Thackwray of Big House Recording Studios
who did the Sound Design and Final Mix for this short
film. 



Katya touches on the following filmmakers whose work she drew
inspiration from when creating Skin Diver;


In terms of the central framing you’ll notice throughout Skin
Diver, Katya references Wes Anderson as an inspiration for
the symmetry and her interesting use of framing techniques. You
can find out more about Wes Anderson here.


Xavier Dolan as a constant inspiration in her work whose
latest release Mommy Katya encourages everyone to watch
immediately! Find out more about Xavier Dolan here.


Terrance Malick whose work inspired the ethereal bubble
and water scenes in Skin Diver, you can find out more
about his work here.



Bahá’í Faith: Katya references her faith that inspires and
drives her to striving to make a difference and extend her
helping hand towards those outside of and therefore within her
own community. You can find out more about the Bahá’í
Faith here.

Katya mentions Tyla Mason the artist who designed the
movie poster for Skin Diver in a beautiful homage to one
of the films inspirations Wes Anderson. You can find more
of Tyla's work here.

Allison Swank of the Swank Group who advised Katya
on handling production companies and staying independent.

The site that Katya used to submit Skin Diver to
international film festivals, FilmFreeway.