Tagline:

Obsessed by the goal of a perfect thesis, Chiara, a young psychology student, decides to traumatise the girl she babysits in order to study the disastrous consequences of her experiment.

Synopsis:

CHAPTER 1 – Fear Conditioning
At the villa’s start, Chiara is devastated when passed over for a grant to fund her dissertation, rooted in her traumatic childhood pharmaceutical abuse. Without funding, her study loses ethical footing.
Iris confides her fear of one of Lillian’s sculptures—the “man in the light.” Chiara seizes this chance. Inspired by Mediterranean myths like the noonday demon, she conditions Iris to fear light by turning brightness into terror, aiming to prove her dissertation—at the cost of Iris’s mental health.

CHAPTER 2 – Phobia Consolidation
Chiara (22), an Italian psychology student, works as a live-in au pair for Lillian, a British light-sculpture artist. Lillian struggles to balance her career with raising her 7-year-old daughter, Iris, relying on Chiara’s support. When Iris develops a phobia of light, Chiara grows concerned—especially as she’s bonded with the child while juggling her dissertation due by summer’s end.
Lillian dismisses Iris’s fear as attention-seeking. But Iris claims she’s hunted by “the man in the light”—a monster visible only in brightness. Iris’s fear forces the family to live in darkness, unsettling Chiara. Left alone when Lillian leaves for an art deal, Chiara struggles with the child’s distress and strange monologues. Paranormal events seem to unfold.
But the supernatural is a ruse—Chiara stages it all.

CHAPTER 3 – Resolution and Back Matter
As fear conditioning grows, real supernatural events begin. Chiara’s reality falters, and childhood fears return. Lillian’s early return adds pressure. Chiara tries to fix the damage but it’s too late. Her manipulation awakens a real demonic presence that claims Chiara’s life—leaving Iris behind.
The ending remains ambiguous. Is Iris safe?

Representatives: 

Giulia Mucci (Director)