Technical data
- Title: COLD SKIN
- Year: 2017
- Production: Babieka, Kanzaman, Gran Babieka, Ink Connection, Pontas Film & Literary Agency.
- Country: Spain and France.
- Direction: Xabier Gens.
- Cast: David Oakes, Ray Stevenson, Aura Garrido, John Benfield, Iván González, Ben Temple.
Description and synopsis
Based on La Pell Freda (La Piel Fria, in Spanish), a hugely successful novel by the Catalan writer Albert Sánchez Piñol, this film was directed by the French director Xabier Gens, himself the author of another notable success with Hitman, an action film that grossed more than 100 million euros. Among the performers is Ray Stevenson, a British actor from well-known adventure titles such as Thor and The Three Musketeers, and TV series such as Rome and Black Sails.
The film was shot in one of the least known, but at the same time most striking and arresting areas of the island: the volcanic coastline of the Timanfaya National Park. When the famous series of eruptions that devastated Lanzarote began in 1730, it did so with a volcano located in the central area. However, over the next six years, in which periods of rest alternated with periods of high activity, more than 25 different volcanoes erupted, many of which carried their lavas to the seashore. In 1974 most of the area affected by the lava flows became part of the National Park, including a coastline that stands out for its powerful mix of natural elements and colours. On one side is the volcanic black that envelops everything, and on the other side, the mighty Atlantic, which on this coast also tends to arrive in crashing swells: black against the blue and white of the sky and sea. And in the background is a musical score created by the almost continuous movement of air: the Trade Winds. Lanzarote is characterised by its primeval beauty – its landscape is a genuine combination of fire, earth, water and air in their primitive states.
The big difference here, in comparison with the rest of Lanzarote’s coast, is the lack of urban presence; since the area is unpopulated and is protected, there is hardly any traffic. With these conditions it is logical that it was chosen for the filming of Cold Skin, whose plot takes place in a lonely lighthouse on a tiny, remote island lost in the ocean. The film involved a great deal of make-up work, as well as set design and special effects, as the lighthouse and its surroundings are snow-covered in many parts.
