The oneiric state: a dream-like state experienced while awake that allows the dreamer to reach inner worlds. Charlotte, Elona and Raphaëlle are able to enter into this state to explore extraordinary realms. They create fictional universes that they share on social networks. At the dawn of adulthood, they almost lose their way, before finding themselves.
Using “shifting”, a self-hypnosis technique, Charlotte mentally travels through fictional universes, visiting places she creates from scratch or from fictional worlds she loves, like Harry Potter. To her, immersive daydreams offer a refuge from the loneliness and difficulties of the real world. But tensions run high in the online shifting community and Charlotte has to choose between her dreams and reality.
When she sleeps, Elona directs her dreams. Since childhood, she has learned to shape her “lucid dreams” according to her desires. Over time, Elona has forged rich and complex links between this dream world and her artistic practice. But, little by little, anxiety has gotten the better of her. How can she let go when she is used to controlling everything, day and night?
Raphaëlle, for her part, is taming the disorder known as “maladaptive daydreaming”, which takes her daily into highly immersive and addictive daydreams. It’s a way of dreaming her life rather than living it, which brings her as much joy as pain. She learns to overcome it to face reality, live her homosexuality and write. Through discussions with specialists and a writing workshop, Charlotte, Elona and Raphaëlle meet and compare their approaches to dreams in this oneiric and existential quest.