Intellect

Authors:  Tim Palmer 
DOI: 10.1386/sfci.6.3.171_1

Keywords
Dans ma peau, Marina de Van, cinéma du corps, performance, film style

Abstract
This article explores the work of the French filmmaker Marina de Van, focusing on her debut feature Dans ma peau/In My Skin (2002), which deals with the issue of self-mutilation. The essay situates the film within the recent phenomenon of the cinéma du corps, whose agenda is an on-screen interrogation of physicality in stark yet intimate terms. Using personal interviews and trade discourses, it then charts the cultural, professional and institutional contexts to de Van's career, emphasizing her foundational experiences in film school. Finally, it analyses Dans ma peau's use of avant garde style, de Van's experimental techniques as a performer, and the film's array of social critiques.