UNDER MY SKIN

17-year-old Matilde returns to her grandmother’s house in Serra do Açor for the summer holidays. There, she meets Pedro, a handsome young man who is 10 years her senior. They soon become attracted to one another, but when they meet again in Lisbon, the age difference is suddenly a problem, and their relationship becomes more complicated. After spending the night at Pedro’s, Matilde discovers he has not been completely honest with her. 

Much like her delicate and radiant portrayal of youths discovering their own desires in Shimmering Bodies, Inês Teixeira digs further into the frantic territories of adolescence. Accurately, delicately, she recounts the intimate experience of first love, mingled with the discovery of power struggles in romantic relationships. It is through this lens that Inês chose to address the intricate issue of consent and how very young women establish boundaries. A gentle, resplendent cinematic endeavour that draws attention to how young women relate to their body, their mental health, and their vulnerability as they contend with their hypersexualisation in contemporary society.