What Mintslate Media’s Her Skin, Her Sin Teaches Us About Finding Power In Spaces That Diminish You

Power is not always reclaimed through confrontation. Sometimes, it is found quietly, in moments of recognition, resolve, and self reclamation.

Mintslate Media’s upcoming drama Her Skin, Her Sin explores this idea with care and emotional precision. Directed by Izaiah Dockery and Jason Manzi, and produced by Seyi Oluwatimilehin, the film examines how people navigate spaces that demand silence, compliance, and emotional restraint, and how power can still be found within those constraints.

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 how racism, tradition, and control operate subtly rather than overtly, and how individuals learn to protect themselves long before they are able to resist openly.

“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.”

At the centre of the film is Priya, portrayed by Sableena Gill, a woman navigating a relationship and domestic environment that slowly diminishes her voice. Rather than being denied agency outright, Priya is pressured to make herself smaller, to adjust, and to accept conditions that compromise her sense of self.

“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.”

As the story unfolds, Her Skin, Her Sin reveals that self preservation is not weakness. It is often the first step toward reclaiming agency. Priya’s journey reflects how many people learn to survive by observing, enduring, and choosing their moments carefully.

“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 Priya must navigate. Through these relationships, the film illustrates how power is often exercised quietly, through expectation and emotional pressure rather than force.

Mintslate Media’s storytelling approach allows these dynamics to unfold without explanation or judgement. Silence is given space. Discomfort is not rushed away. In doing so, the film trusts audiences to recognise truth and reflect on their own experiences of navigating spaces that diminish them.

“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.”

As the final entry in this series, Her Skin, Her Sin reinforces Mintslate Media’s commitment to stories that honour emotional realism and lived experience. The film reminds audiences that finding power does not always look like rebellion. Sometimes, it begins with recognising your worth in spaces that try to deny it, and choosing yourself when silence can no longer hold.