The Man Who Sold His Skin

Sam Ali, a sensitive impulsive and straightforward young Syrian man, fled to Lebanon to escape the Syrian war. Without legal status, he is unable to get a Schengen visa to go to Paris where his beloved Abeer lives. He spends his time being a freeloader in art galleries in Beirut. It’s in one of these galleries that he meets Jeffrey Godefroi, the most sulphurous and best-known American artist in today’s contemporary art market.

The two men conclude a strange deal that will forever change Sam Ali’s life.

The artist turns Sam Ali into his artwork by tattooing a Schengen visa on his back. Sam Ali then passes from the status of a vulgar “undocumented refugee” to a work of art internationally solicited, able to move freely. But for him, only his devouring love passion matters. It is the only thing guiding his choices.

Haunted by his love for Abeer, he agrees to sell his back to the devil in order to see her. He, who knows nothing about contemporary art and who doesn’t care, finds himself propelled into this foreign environment that is completely at odds with who he is.

His tattooed skin is worth an astronomical sum in the art market, collectors are interested, the biding goes up and human rights activists are outraged. From one museum to another, between art gallery owners, journalists, curators, collectors, lawyers, men of the Syrian regime and opponents, Sam Ali remains genuine, honest and in love. But in spite of himself, his dignity is flouted and his fate is put to a severe test.

How can one get out of this trap, regain Abeer’s esteem and become a man again when you are relegated to the status of a commodity? This is the dilemma of Sam Ali, the man who sold his skin.