“If you went missing, would anyone notice?” That is the question posed by the British film Dreams of a Life, which tells the story of a young British woman who lay dead in her apartment for three years without raising any suspicion.

Aspiring singer Joyce Vincent died in her apartment located above a shopping mall in 2003 in Leeds, near London, apparently while watching TV and wrapping Christmas presents. Three years later, police broke into Joyce’s flat with a repossession order, and found her decomposed body on the floor in front of the working television with unwrapped presents surrounding her.

WATCH THE TRAILER FOR DREAMS OF A LIFE HERE:

The film incorporates scenes from Joyce’s life leading to her death, as well as documentary-style interviews with people who befriended Joyce over the years. They portray Joyce as pleasant woman devoted to music, who was “fancied” by everyone. All of the interviewees share the same question: “How come no one knew?”

The movie opens in cinemas in the U.K. on December 16, 2011.