When a coworker disappears, worry spreads among the janitorial staff of the university. Flora (25) is the most distressed of them all. Flora is a loner, sometimes awkward or even rude, but very perceptive. She lives with her grumpy grandmother and is having an affair with Bonian (27), a sensitive gardener with a true passion for botany.
One stormy evening, Flora is getting completely soaked, when Helga (30), a bright teaching candidate, finds her and offers her a lift. Helga is also feeling stressed, due to her new job and insecure relationship with her boyfriend Ares (42), but also, Flora discovers that she is hiding a transparent stain growing in her chest. A deep friendship begins: despite their socio-economic and personal differences, they can be themselves with each other.
The more the stain grows in Helga’s chest, the closer they become. It is therefore shocking when Helga decides to go back to Ares at a moment when Flora needs her. The betrayal reopens a wound Flora thought had healed. Helga goes back home only to find Ares abusing her trust, and her body turns even more transparent. But Flora decides not to let another friend disappear and together with Bonian they help Helga escape to a house in the woods where women have come to heal.

We are used to images of violence against women’s bodies, both fictional and real, thus stories of power and healing become necessary and hopeful. With Sealskin I focus on recovery, characters helping each other overcome trauma, rediscover and reclaim their lost bodies. I use physical disappearance as a visual metaphor. It’s not about logically explaining the reason behind the missing body parts, but rather delving into the consequences of having lost part of yourself. Sealskin depicts the characters at a slow pace. Most of the time, they linger in closed and dark spaces, until they discover the house in the woods which brings light and hope to the story. An enchanted house inhabited by ghosts, non-frightening survivors of the invisible violence that is constantly present in our society. Just like the traditional nordic tale which has given the film its title, Sealskin takes the shape of a fable and opens a magic door into a safe space for Flora and Helga to reclaim agency.