email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

PRODUCTION Italy

Michela Occhipinti travels to Mauritania in her debut feature, Flesh Out

by 

- The director's first feature film, set in the North African country, will be presented in world premiere in the Panorama section at the Berlinale

Michela Occhipinti travels to Mauritania in her debut feature, Flesh Out
Flesh Out by Michela Occhipinti (© Alain Parroni / Vivo Film)

The story of a woman who risks her health in order to satisfy an aesthetic canon imposed on her by others is at the heart of Flesh Out [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, the first fiction feature by Michela Occhipinti (Lettere dal deserto – elogio della lentezza, 2010), due to be presented in world premiere in the Panorama section at the Berlinale, which kicks off on 7 February.

Set in Mauritania, the film tells the story of Verida (newcomer Verida Beitta Ahmed Deiche), a young woman who works in a beauty salon, spends time on social media and has fun with her friends. When her family chooses a future husband for her, Verida – like many of her peers – is forced to put on weight, essentially force-feeding herself in order to achieve the beauty ideal and social status that her country's tradition has imposed on her. As her marriage approaches, meal after meal, Verida questions everything she has taken for granted: her loved ones, her way of life and her own body.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

"To what extent do social models, often built to satisfy male desires, influence and condition the women of the world?" asks the director, who intends to use Verida's story to focus on the complexity of the relationship women have with their bodies. "The Mauritania in the film works as an 'elsewhere,’ the opposite to the world I come from and live in, and yet, in its paradoxical inversion of a series of relationships, it acts as a mirror, revealing the distorted way in which women's bodies are perceived.’

Flesh Out was produced by Marta Donzelli and Gregorio Paonessa for Vivo Film with RAI Cinema and in association with the German outfit Films Boutique. The film received contributions from MIBAC - General Directorate of Cinema, the Region of Lazio and Europa Creativa - MEDIA Programme. International sales are being handled by Films Boutique, while Lucky Red will be distributing the film in Italy.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from Italian)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy