Writer-director Urvashi Pathania makes a striking return to the short film landscape with SKIN’s U.S. premiere. at the prestigious 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival following its world premiere at the renowned Fantasia Festival in Montreal. A psychological thriller rooted in personal history and cultural critique, SKIN explores the corrosive impact of colorism and beauty standards through the story of a young Indian American woman’s visit to a mysterious skin-lightening clinic.
Inspired by Pathania’s own experiences with skin bleaching, SKIN is a surreal and emotionally resonant tale of two sisters caught in a seductive but dangerous pursuit of transformation. With unsettling precision, the film confronts the toxic pressures imposed on women of color to conform to Eurocentric ideals, posing the question: how far would you go to be seen as “enough”?
Pathania, a 2024 Sundance Screenwriters Lab fellow and rising voice in independent film, is known for fusing genre with deep emotional insight. Her previous work includes the Tribeca-premiering short BEAST, and UNMOTHERED, which was acquired by HBO Max.
Starring comedian and actor Sureni Weerasekera (Netflix, HBO) and acclaimed performer Shreya Navile (Month of Madhu, Monsoon Wedding the Musical), SKIN showcases powerhouse performances that drive home the emotional urgency at the heart of the story.
Produced by Liz Lian (2023 Sundance Producing Fellow) and Nicole Palermo (Jim Henson Idea Man, Tender Thoughts), with cinematography by Kathryn Boyd-Batstone (ASC Heritage Award Nominee), the film blends horror, cultural critique, and surreal visual storytelling into a potent commentary on self-worth, identity, and generational pain.
Pathania sought to externalize the quiet, intimate violence that often unfolds in private spaces homes, mirrors, and within the mind. SKIN transforms those internalized struggles into a haunting but honest meditation on identity and self-perception.
SKIN will screen as an official selection of the Oscar-qualifying 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival, marking its U.S. premiere and continuing its powerful festival journey after debuting at Fantasia. It’s a bold new entry in the evolving conversation around identity, beauty, and self-worth.
