Under the Skin
Sous la peau

A feature documentary by Robin Harsch

Who are we underneath the skin? What defines us as a person? If one day your child were to tell you that he or she wants to change sex, would you still love him or her as much as you did before? This intimate film tells the story of the quest for identity and the family upheaval experienced by three teenagers in transition at Le Refuge, a shelter for young LGBTIQ people in Geneva. With deep sensitivity and in successive touches, Robin Harsch tells us a story of love… and quite simply of humanity.

World premiere:
- 2019, DOK Leipzig – International Documentary Film Festival
Awards:
- 2020, FIPADOC – Biarritz International Documentary Film Festival: Audience Award
- 2020, FIFDH – Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights: Jury Prize HUG-Artopie and Special Mention of the De La Clairière Jury
- Coproducer:
  Radio télévision suisse - RTS (CH)
- Cast:
  Söan, Logan, Effie, Alexandra
- Writer and director:
  Robin Harsch
- Producer:
  Britta Rindelaub
- Editor:
  Ana Acosta
- Sound Department:
  Igor Marlot, Jérôme Vittoz
- Specs:
  84', CH, 2019
- Language:
  French

Outplay (world sales) / Aardvark (distributor CH) / IMDb / Swiss Films

Robin Harsch

Born in 1977 in Geneva, Switzerland, Robin Harsch studied filmmaking at the Cantonal School of Fine Arts of Lausanne (ECAL) and obtained his bachelor’s degree in 2004. He directed several short films, including SOPHIE CALLE, APRÈS TEXTE and FEDERER AND I, in which he also acts as himself, blurring the lines between documentary and fiction. In 2008, he plays the lead of Lionel Baier’s “Another Man”. He then works several years for the Swiss television as a documentary filmmaker. His first feature fiction film, BICEPS, was released in 2018. In 2019, he directed UNDER THE SKIN, produced by Alva Film.

Filmography

2019 Under the Skin
2018 Biceps
2012 Les cheveux courts, ronde, petite taille
2009 Quentin et Ferdinand
2008 La petite boiteuse
2008 La touche
2006 Federer et moi
2003 Because I Love
2002 Sophie Calle, après texte
2001 La poste, Die Post, La Posta