Daniel Grasskamp
Daniel Grasskamp is a British writer and director of narrative fiction. He studied at UCA Farnham and receiving a BA Honours degree in Film Production. In his 8 years of industry experience, Grasskamp has made over a dozen fictional short films, some of which have been screened internationally at Tribeca Film Festival and Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. His technical background is in post-production as an editor and colourist, a career that began at OnDemand! in London where he focused on cutting broadcast film trailers for major studio theatrical releases including Warner Tv. Now as Head of Post-Production at the global agency Instinctif Partners, Daniel produces branded content for international clients such as Virgin Media and eBay, as well as writing and directing content with commercial focus. Daniel Grasskamp wrote, directed, produced and edited his debut feature film CAT SKIN which had its World Premiere at this year's Showtime sponsored MiFo Film Festival in Miami.
Director's statement
“CAT SKIN the short film(shot back in2009)was a taster of things to come, as it introduced me to my protagonist Cat and herdesire for the girl of her dreams April.It focused on voyeurisms and obsession. Once the film was done I had the urge toexplore the character ofCatfurther, build on her backstory and her world, which led to introducing new characters. CAT SKINwould be my first feature film,and I threw myself into the deep end.Without being able to secure any funding, I decided to go ahead with the project, pulling in resources from previous collaborators and local filmmakers.The short and feature length films differ stylistically,even though the longer version pushedmore towards a ‘realism’ feel, it was important to me to retain some of the ‘romanticised’ and ‘dream like’ visual qualities of the short film.[…] It’s interesting to see how a long shotengages the audience at a higher level and makes them feel more present in a scene.It’s a stylistic choice, greatly inspired byfilmmakerssuch asBèla TarrandAndrei Tarkovsky,and I like finding a balance, the sweet spot, between the use of a long take and conventional editing forms in a single scene. CAT SKINwas a passion project,that saw me through the majority of my 20s, and dealt with themes and characters very close to my heart.It begins as a romanticised view of falling in love, but our charactersCat and Aprilare unable to keep the flood gates closed, as outside influences pour in and eventually consume their once perfect world”.