Dans ma Peau (In My Skin). 2002. France. Written and directed by Marina de Van. With Léa Drucker, Thibault de Montalembert, Dominique Reymond, Bernard Alane and Marina de Van. In French; English subtitles. 35mm. 93 min.
Everything changes for Ester, a young woman with a successful career on the upswing and a devoted boyfriend, when her leg is wounded outside a party one night. Strangely, she is initially unaware of the deep cut, yet it becomes a catalyst for an obsession with her own body, at once disconnected and deeply personal, that sends her into a spiral with no release. She begins to self-harm and hallucinate, becoming increasingly secretive and unreliable as the weeks pass. Like an addict, she books herself into a hotel room to satiate her cravings by amorously consuming herself. Written, directed, and starring Marina de Van, In My Skin is an entry in the New French Extremity movement that explores, through the metaphor of the body, the search for the self in a very disconnected age. This screening celebrates the 20th anniversary of de Van’s grotesquely intimate film.