When a coworker disappears, worry spreads among university janitors. Flora (25) is the most distressed of them all. She can be awkward or even rude, but very perceptive. She lives with her grumpy grandmother and has an affair with Bonian (27), a sensitive gardener. One stormy evening Flora gets completely soaked when Helga (30), an aspiring teacher and childhood friend, offers her a lift. They rekindle their friendship: despite their socio-economic differences, they can be themselves with each other. But Flora discovers a mysterious transparent stain growing on Helga’s chest. Desperate to prevent her disappearance, she tries various remedies: cooking protein-rich meals, placing beautiful stones on her body, telling her stories. However, Helga believes that her void can only be filled by her boyfriend Gael (42). Before Helga completely vanishes, Flora and Bonian will bring her to a house in the woods where women have come to heal—a safe space to reclaim agency over her lost body.
There is a real helplessness in those who accompany people trapped in an abusive relationship. You would like to rescue your friend from their abuser, but often, it’s not possible. What do you do in that situation? How do you break the spell? In Sealskin, I use the metaphor of disappearance to address the subtle and often silenced forms of violence that many women endure. I focus on the journey of Flora and Helga, two friends who, despite their differences, support and care for each other and heal together. This film aims to be for the viewer what Flora is for Helga: a gesture of companionship, the invocation of the unnameable to restore our bodies, and, most importantly, the desire and confidence to inhabit them.
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