CREATIVE DOCUMENTARY | 63 MIN | 2024

ITALY, ROMANIA

LOGLINE
In 2005, two Ukrainian psychiatrists began to observe recurring symptoms of psychological distress in many women from Eastern Europe returning from Italy: insomnia, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and in the most severe cases, hallucinations and suicidal tendencies. These women had one thing in common: they all worked as caregivers in Italy. The two psychiatrists named this condition “Syndrome Italia.”

The documentary will follow the lives of Corina, a woman affected by this syndrome after years of working in Italy, who is slowly trying to build a new life after much suffering, and Natalia, a woman currently experiencing the harsh working conditions of a caregiver in Italy: isolated, thousands of kilometers away from her children, alone. Two women who continuously reflect each other and who fight with all their might for a different future.

SUPPORTED BY
Emilia Romagna Film Commission, Production Fund, 2022
Italian Ministry of Culture, Directorate-General for Cinema, Selective Funding Call, 2021
Italian Cultural Institute of Bucharest

IN PARTICIPATION WITH
BDC – Balkan Documentary Center, Development Workshop 2022
Bio to B, Biografilm Pitching Event, 2022

FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS

  • World Premiere – Biografilm Festival | Bologna, Italy | June 9, 2024
  • “Visible Objects, Invisible Subjects” Series, Fondazione Brescia Musei | Brescia, Italy | October 9, 2024
  • Via Emilia Doc Fest | Modena, Italy | November 15, 2024
  • Cinema San Giuseppe | Brugherio, Italy | November 24, 2024
  • Ariosto Spazio Cinema | Milan, Italy | November 26, 2024
  • Cineteatro Volta | Pavia, Italy | December 1, 2024
  • Cinema Sala Ratti | Legnano, Italy | December 10, 2024
  • Greenwich D’essai Cinema | Cagliari, Italy | December 15, 2024
  • Cinema Don Bosco | Rome, Italy | December 15, 2024
  • Cinema Lottagono | Bergamo, Italy | December 17, 2024
  • Cinema Ariston | Oristano, Italy | December 17, 2024
  • Cinema Odeon | Bologna, Italy | March 30, 2025
  • Sala Modotti – Cinemazero – INDUSTRY EVENT | Pordenone, Italy | April 5, 2025
  • Sinestesia Cultural Association – at Cineteatro Baretti | Turin, Italy | April 9, 2025
  • Dok Festival | Munich, Germany | May 8/10/11/16, 2025
  • Officine Social Movie Festival | Arezzo, Italy | June 3/4/6, 2025
  • Italian Cultural Institute of Bucharest | Bucharest, Romania | October 2025 (date TBC)
  • Mental Health Film Festival | Moscow, Russia | October 27, 2025

 

AWARDS

Winner of the TOP DOC – Il meglio del documentario Award (Premio Hera), Special Mention for Emerging Director Ettore Mengozzi

Finalist at the Mental Health Film Festival 2025 (MHFF), Moscow

 

Director: Ettore Mengozzi
Writers: Ettore Mengozzi, Giacomo Betti
Producers: Marco Chiappa, Francesca Cimolai
Co-Producers: Cristina Iordache
Production companies: Bloom Media House srl (Italy), East Movies (Romania)
Line Producer: Antropotopia
Cinematographer: Giacomo Betti
Editor: Nicola Quarta, Marco Gianstefani
Story Editor: Alessandro Casati
Sound design: Tiziano Lamberti per Sounzone
Music composer: Cristian Vasilescu
Additional music: Filippo Milanesi, Francesco Chimenti, Matteo Cassi
Color grader: Marco Gianstefani
Poster Artwork: Francesco Marsala
Subtitles: Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Post Production: Velvet cut www.velvetcut.it