According to an ancient legend of the Sicilian tradition, the Natives are a lineage of fascinating women endowed with extraordinary powers, whose spirits manage to separate from their bodies to torment and ruin the lives of the unfortunate victims of the moment. The one who feels persecuted by a Native is Michela, a young doctor who, after returning to her small hometown on the slopes of Etna, witnesses a progressive derailment of her professional and emotional life. Paranoid and suspicious of everyone, Michela needs to identify who her enemy is among the many women around her and face her head on before it's too late.
Direction
Etna's volcanic menace becomes a character.
Cinematography
Sicilian landscapes that breathe dread.
Acting
Mandalari's unraveling is uncomfortably real.
Director
John Real
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'donne di fuori' legend originates from actual Sicilian folklore about spirit doubles, historically used to explain sudden illness or misfortune in tight-knit communities.
Director John Real shot multiple endings after test audiences split on whether Michela was victim or villain; the theatrical cut leaves it deliberately ambiguous.
IT
