THE HOLY BOY

REGIONAL PROGRAMME

DIRECTOR: Paolo Strippoli

COUNTRY: IT, SI

YEAR/DURATION: 2025. • 122′

psychological horror, drama

Info

SCREENPLAY: Jacopo Del Giudice, Paolo Strippoli, Milo Tissone
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Cristiano Di Nicola
EDITOR: Federico Palmerini
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Marcello di Carlo
COSTUME DESIGN: Susanna Mastroianni
SPECIAL EFFECTS: Giovanni Squillaci
CAST: Michele Riondino, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Roberto Citran, Giulio Feltri, Paolo Pierobon, Sergio Romano
PRODUCERS: Miha Černec, Elia Mazzoni, Domenico Procacci, Laura Paolucci, Ines Vasiljević, Stefano Sardo, Jožko Rutar
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Fandango (IT), Vision Distribution (IT), Nightswim (IT), SPOK Films (SI)
DISTRIBUTION: MCF

Festivals and awards

Venice International Film Festival 2025 — world premiere and FEDIC Award for Best Film
Fantastic Fest 2025. — Audience Award for Best Film, Next Wave Award for Best Director

Synopsis

Remis is a secluded mountain village where everyone seems unnaturally happy. It feels like the perfect new start for Sergio Rossetti, a PE teacher fleeing a troubled past. But after meeting Michela, the innkeeper, he uncovers a disturbing ritual: once a week, the villagers gather to embrace Matteo Corbin, a teenager who absorbs other people’s pain.

Trailer

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About the director

Paolo Strippoli (Corato, 1993) is an Italian writer and director. He graduated in Film Directing from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (National Film School) in Rome, after completing a degree in Performing Arts and Sciences at Sapienza University. He won Italy’s prestigious Franco Solinas Award for Best Story for L’Angelo Infelice (2019). He made his feature directorial debut alongside Roberto De Feo with the Netflix original A Classic Horror Story (2020), which earned them the Best Director Award at the 67th Taormina Film Festival. Strippoli’s second feature film, the psychological horror Flowing (2022), further established him as a distinctive voice in contemporary genre cinema.