Mathew’s short film in running for award

A WELSH filmmaker, who was commissioned by the BBC to create a short film in 2020, has amassed huge amounts of views of the film and has been nominated for a Digital Broadcast award.

Mathew David, an actor from Cardiff, created Skinny Fat, which reflects on his personal dealings with body dysmorphia as a gay person.

Mathew has been acting in various film and theatre roles over nine years. His film highlights issues facing the gay and wider LGBT+ community on topics such as beauty standards and abuse.

“I wanted to create something that reflected how I felt, and I think by doing that it’s telling an individual story. And if I feel that, other people might feel it as well,” Mathew said.

“We glorify the six pack, we glorify the headless torso trying to talk to us. This is an ode to my journey to say, you know what, I’m going to put this in a box as part of my reflective journey.”

The Ffolio artist’s nomination was announced on social media along with the film. Nominated for Best Short-Form Scripted category at the Broadcast Digital Awards, it has received huge traction across social media and has amassed nearly one million views. The short film is also streaming now on BBC iPlayer.

“It’s been really overwhelming in the best possible way that people have thanked me for creating this content and obviously getting it out there and having conversations about this,” Mathew added.

“It’s helped me in terms of being a bit of therapy, I suppose, to kind of compartmentalize that part of my life. It’s been incredible. A lot of people in the messages have just been saying ‘this exactly happened to me. I can’t believe I’m seeing my life on screen’. And it’s transcended even beyond LGBTQ+ people. I’ve had straight people message me. It’s really been amazing.”