Directed by the team of Daniel Dias and Clarissa Appelt, this dives deep into the suffocating legacy of fame and the kind of family trauma that doesn’t just haunt a house. It possesses it.

The premise is simple but emotionally rough. Ana (Paolla Oliveira), struggling to process the death of her mother—a legendary Brazilian screen icon named Narcisa (Rosamaria Murtinho)—wants to wash her hands of the past. She plans to sell their crumbling, memorabilia-filled childhood home and split the proceeds with her younger brother, Diego (Pedro Henrique Müller).

The problem is that Narcisa didn’t build a legendary career by following anyone’s rules. She certainly isn’t going to start now that she’s dead. When the spirit of the matriarch begins manifesting in her old dressing room, the film shifts from a domestic drama into a claustrophobic power struggle. Narcisa’s will is so potent that it bleeds into the present, forcing Ana and Diego to confront the reality that they are merely supporting characters in their mother’s eternal, ego-driven lead role of a life. And death

The dressing room is the true star all on its own. It’s cluttered with the detritus of a lifetime of fame—faded headshots, vintage makeup kits and costumes made for a funeral—all of which serve as anchors for the haunting.

Usually, I make fun of movies where people go back home to fix things and end up being haunted by their past life. This is so well-made that I have nothing negative to say.

You can watch this either in-person or virtually at the Chattanooga Film Festival. For more info, visit the official site.