Shortlisted Oscar doc will get under viewers’ skin
UNDER OUR SKIN (Andy Abrahams Wilson, 2009)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Saturday, January 9, $10, 8:30 (series runs January 8-9)
212-941-2001
www.underourskin.com
www.tribecafilm.com/docseries
For everyone who thought Lyme disease was a minor little annoyance that is going away, Andy Abrahams Wilson is about to open your eyes. In UNDER OUR SKIN, the director-cinematographer details horrifying stories of men, women, and children stricken with the tic-borne illness who have often been misdiagnosed for years by doctors and health-care companies that believe their symptoms are all in their head — or that they are actually suffering from fibromyalgia, lupus, MS, or other diseases. Wilson, who refused to believe that his twin sister had contracted the potentially debilitating illness many years ago, speaks with people battling Lyme disease — which affects the neurological system, causing both physical and psychological problems — as well as family members dealing with difficult situations, doctors who are finding it harder to get funding to do research into the causes of the disease, and even one physician who seems to be on a personal mission to prove that most people who claim to have Lyme disease do not — and that they should not be covered by insurance companies. Unsurprisingly, as with so many health-related issues, it’s always best to follow the money, which Wilson does, uncovering some fascinating and infuriating information. UNDER OUR SKIN is a powerful, important film, one that will leave you scratching your head — in addition to other parts of your body.
The film will be screening at Tribeca Cinemas on January 9 at 8:30, followed by a Q&A with Wilson, Lyme disease sufferer Jacqueline Spar, and Dr. Jeffrey Morrison. The event is part of Docs on the Shortlist, a two-day series featuring six of the fifteen documentaries that have made it to the Oscar semifinals, to be whittled down to five official nominees announced on February 2. Also on the bill are Revecca Cammisa’s WHICH WAY HOME, which looks at immigration problems at the U.S.-Mexico border; Robert Kenner’s FOOD, INC., which examines some of the more frightening aspect of the food industry; Mark N. Hopkins’s LIVING IN EMERGENCY: STORIES OF DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS, which follows two volunteers as they try to help in Congo and Liberia; Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman’s SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION, which delves into the civil rights movement through music; and Louie Psihoyos’s THE COVE, which reveals a surprising side to dolphin training and activism in the 1960s. Each screening will be followed by a discussion with the director, producer, editor, and/or other participants.