Racism does not always announce itself loudly. Sometimes, it arrives dressed as courtesy, tradition, and concern.
Mintslate Media’s upcoming drama Her Skin, Her Sin explores this reality with restraint and emotional clarity. Directed by Izaiah Dockery and Jason Manzi, and produced by Seyi Oluwatimilehin, the film examines how power and control often operate beneath civility, particularly within intimate domestic spaces.
Founded in February 2025 by filmmaker Seyi Oluwatimilehin, Mintslate Media was created to tell stories rooted in lived experience. Her Skin, Her Sin reflects that mission by focusing on the quiet ways racism and dominance surface through everyday interactions rather than overt confrontation.
“My perspective was to create a story that is relevant and yet rarely represented on Canadian screens,” director Jason Manzi says. “A story that most racialized people face when trying to face the world with love but are still judged and looked down upon because of factors beyond their control.”
The film centres on Priya, played by Sableena Gill, a woman invited into a domestic space governed by tradition, power, and unspoken rules. Through subtle gestures, language, and silence, the evening exposes how conditional acceptance functions, forcing Priya to navigate scrutiny without openly resisting it.
“Priya is a strong Indian woman, who's found herself in a relationship that has dampened her power and essence,” Sableena Gill explains. “While she has struggled to assert herself throughout the relationship, she still has that power within her.”
What makes Her Skin, Her Sin particularly unsettling is its realism. The discomfort does not arise from dramatic confrontation, but from familiarity. The politeness that masks control. The expectation to remain agreeable. The pressure to minimise oneself in order to belong.
“This film captures one of the toughest moments in a relationship,” Sableena Gill says. “We see the moment everything comes to a head between Priya, Ethan and Margaret, and I believe the story is something many people who have been in similar situations will relate to.”
The film also stars Matt Gallagher as Ethan and Robyn Kotsopoulos as Margaret, whose presence reinforces the social dynamics that Priya must navigate. Together, the characters reflect how tradition and authority can quietly reinforce exclusion without ever appearing overtly hostile.
For Mintslate Media, Her Skin, Her Sin is part of a broader commitment to telling stories that resonate emotionally rather than explain themselves away. The film trusts audiences to recognise these dynamics without being instructed how to feel.
“Mintslate Media exists to help bridge that gap,” Seyi Oluwatimilehin says. “Through these films, we aim to create work that feels lived in, intimate, and unmistakably human. Stories that do not just represent people, but resonate with them.”
By allowing silence and subtlety to carry meaning, Her Skin, Her Sin reveals how racism and control often survive through politeness rather than aggression. It invites viewers to reflect on how many people learn to endure discomfort quietly in spaces that demand compliance.
As an upcoming release, Her Skin, Her Sin positions Mintslate Media as a film company unafraid to confront difficult truths with care and honesty. The film does not shout its message. Instead, it lets recognition do the work.