Skin Deep Short Film

Short Summary

I'm Red Reddy, a South Asian writer/filmmaker raised in California and Texas and shaped by constant trips to India throughout my childhood. Growing up in between different cultures, it became important to me to document the stories of my upbringing – stories of identity, of culture, of not belonging – while holding onto the universality that makes us all human. 

As someone always constantly at the crossroads of where I fit in within the world, Skin Deep is a deeply personal story of the sacrifices we all take to assimilate. Having grown up the son of immigrant parents, and predominantly raised within white communities, I worked as hard as I could to push my culture to the side, to live a double life, and, ultimately, be seen as different to the “other” Indian kids I was associated with.

As I grew older, I re-found that “other” side of me to become whole — but not without a tremendous amount of work to get there. Internal reflection which had me wondering what those early key moments were that sent me on this journey to find out who I was. Along the way, I realized how much trying to fit in weighed on me. Did I pierce my ears, get tattoos, choose who my friends were because I genuinely wanted to or was it because I thought it would help me stand out and be unique?

And that’s how we got to this story. A story that we tried as hard as we could to not allow to live in the safety of generalization but in the shades of gray and micro-moments that constantly make us aware of being an outsider. Skin Deep is that story. I hope it puts a lens on how much — even in a slice of life — first generation Americans have to constantly ask themselves who they are. And ultimately, how, even after lots of therapy and growth, we still constantly ask ourselves this.

Your kind and generous contributions will elevate Skin Deep to a professional level, amplifying our message in festivals and beyond. But most importantly, you’ll help this story show others that they’re not alone and to find strength within themselves.