Director's Note

     “Skin and Bone” is a project borne out of genuine appreciation for the inherently dramatic nature of working in healthcare. It represents a true collaboration with actors and musicians, donating their time and talents for meals and good company. “Skin and Bone” brought together a cast and crew of over 30 people for the sole reason of creating art. In this film, the focus is on a cardiac catheterization lab, where heart attacks and vascular defects are treated every day. I spent four years working in a cath lab, and upon watching a rough first edit, I was surprised to find just what an intensely personal film this is. It is meant to provide a more realistic and meaningful perspective of the doctors, nurses, technologists, and visiting researchers who all play an integral role in our experience during times of illness. The film spotlights the crucial network of ordinary people who spend their lives working in times which, for patients and family members, are distinctly extraordinary.

One cast member, upon watching a recent cut of “Skin and Bone” said, “I like that it debunks some of the Grey’s Anatomy-ness of medical drama.” To me, it’s not so much that those types of shows aren’t interesting, it’s that I think there is something very unique and honest about how people interact when another person is in a state of urgency, in the real everyday normal world. The hypothetical “you” having a heart attack is probably not used to the hectic surroundings, nor are your visiting family, but for the people who treat in the hospital, this is their day, every day. You could be a saint, you could be a truly evil person, and it is their job to do the same thing, regardless.

In our films, we are proud to showcase the diverse wealth of talent that Boston has to offer. It is my hope that, with the generous work of the cast and musicians, we have managed to transform a collection of personal ideas into something with which any viewer can identify.

- Philip M.Magcalas