SYnopsis
Brothers Ethan (WYATT OLEFF) and Derek (FIN ARGUS) try their best to navigate the pressures of teenage life while tending to their mother’s (CHRISSY METZ) debilitating prescription drug addiction. Based on the filmmaker’s adolescence in small-town America, Stay Awake is a personal exploration of the roller coaster ride that families go on while trying to help their loved ones battle a disease that affects millions every day.
writer & director
Jamie sisley
Jamie Sisley’s photograph by Julia Walker Thomas
“I think a lot of good can be done with a lot of movements when you just have people living and being who they are and not making more of it in a story or a film. I love it when story tellers don’t call a lot of attention to aspects of life that shouldn't be (called attention to). The more we see people normalized, the better.”
— Jamie Sisley
Jamie Sisley is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker who recently wrote and directed Stay Awake, a narrative feature film that premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the 2022 Cinema Vision 14plus Award and the Special Mention in Generation section.
In addition, Jamie received an Emmy Nomination for his feature documentary, Farewell Ferris Wheel. The film won the Creative Promise Award from the Tribeca Film Institute, received an Imagen nomination for the positive portrayal of Latinos in entertainment, and was nationally broadcast on PBS and Netflix.
Prior to his feature work, Jamie’s narrative short film, “Stay Awake," premiered at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival, and won both the National Board of Review Film Prize and Slamdance Grand Jury Prize. His work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, SFFILM, Tribeca Film Institute, Film Independent, ITVS, and The Smithsonian Institute.
Jamie earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, and an M.F.A. in Film from Columbia University.
cast & credits
WYATT OLEFF
Ethan
FIN ARGUS
Derek
CHRISSY METZ
Michelle
ALBERT JONES
Dennis
LORRIE ODOM
Vicki
CREE CICCHINO
Melanie
QUINN McCOLGAN
Ashley
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
Jamie Sisley
PRODUCED BY
Shrihari Sathe, p.g.a.
Eric Schultz, p.g.a.
CO-PRODUCERS
Rob Cristiano, Amy Lippens, Sarah Dorman Sveen, Alvaro R. Valente
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Shannon Akegarasu, Heidi Castelein, Ozo Jaculewicz, Adam Kirszner, Nion McEvoy, Chrissy Metz, Barbara Perry, Hannah Pillemer, Rick Rosenthal, Nancy Stephens, Fernando Szew, Yoshinobu Tsuji, Jennifer Westin
CASTING BY
Amy Lippens, CSA and Rebecca Birstock
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Alejandro Mejia, AMC
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Caity Birmingham
ORIGINAL MUSIC BY
Ben Sollee
EDITED BY
Alan Canant
COSTUME DESIGNER
Desira Pesta
SOUND DESIGNER
Arjun G. Sheth
MUSIC SUPERVISORS
Kyle McKeveny, Joseph Rudge
WITH SUPPORT FROM
SFFILM invest (a program of SFFILM makers and Cinereach), Westridge Foundation, and Sundance Institute Feature Film Program