Variety is reporting that Fandango Sales has taken international rights for Paolo Strippoli’s horror film The Holy Boy (La valle dei sorrisi).
The Italian horror film will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in a midnight screening slot in the Out of Competition section. The trade was the first to share the international trailer this morning. You can now watch it down below.
The film follows Sergio, a teacher tormented by his past, who is transferred to Remis, a secluded village known as the happiest town in Italy. It seems the perfect place for a new start, but Sergio soon discovers that behind the town’s joyful facade lies a dark and disturbing secret.Each week, the villagers gather to meet Matteo, an introverted 15 year old. They say Matteo is an angel whose embrace can free one of all pain and sorrow. But as Sergio realizes the village’s relationship to the young man is not as benevolent as it seems, his attempt to save Matteo awakens the darker side of the community, and the boy everyone calls the angel of Remis.Strippoli commented: “‘The Holy Boy’ was born from a desire to explore horror not merely as a tool for suspense, but as a symbolic space to tell a story about the fragility of identity and the desperate need for belonging. In an apparently idyllic community where pain is forbidden and serenity is treated like a religion, Matteo’s journey unfolds: a queer teenager, both sacrificial body and redemptive figure. It’s a film about the vital role of pain in our lives. And about those brave enough not to smile.”
The domestic release of The Holy Boy in Italian theaters is coming, on Sept. 17th, by Vision Distribution.