Experiencing Interruptions?

Ones Who Stay

When Jess's friend, Rayna passes away in a tragic accident, Rayna stays with Jess as a ghost. Rayna's afterlife becomes its own purgatory as she realizes the only thing that's keeping her from moving on is Jess. Will Rayna be able to help Jess to let go, or does her presence make it all harder?

  • Cormac Bluestone
    Director
    It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV), Overthinking with Kat and June (TV), She's Clean (Short Film)
  • Laney Yoo
    Writer
  • Alyssa R Bennett
    Producer
    ReRun, The Pack
  • Julia Laurenne Chambers
    Key Cast
    "Jess"
  • Pearl Zhang
    Key Cast
    "Rayna"
  • Destiny Brown
    Key Cast
    "Imogen"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Female Led Drama
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 8 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 1, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Culver City Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    December 4, 2023
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Cormac Bluestone

Cormac Bluestone is a Director, Composer and Actor from New York. Cormac has directed a number of short films, including "Flavor of the Week," for which he was nominated for Best Director and the Hollywood Verge Film Awards.

Cormac Bluestone may be best known for his work as Composer on the Television show, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", where he composed music and lyrics for fan-favorite episodes such as "Nightmare Cometh," "Franks Little Beauties," and "A Very Sunny Christmas." He has also done the music for FOX’s The Cool Kids starring Emmy-winning actors Vicki Lawrence and Leslie Jordan, Emmy-nominated actor Martin Mull and David Alan Grier, as well as YouTube Premium’s female comedy Overthinking with Kat & June. He has scored a number of features as well including "Tenured" which premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival.

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Director Statement

I was inspired to make this movie because I lost my brother when I was 19. We played music together, had many of the same friends, and were rarely apart because we were so close in age - he was my best friend. I still see him in my dreams, think about him and talk about him. Laney Yoo's script fulfilled one of life's "What if's": What if you got more time with a loved one after you lost them? How would you spend that time? Would it make you happy to have that time? And would your loved one be happy and fulfilled being there for you?

In answering these questions, I wanted to put the audience's focus squarely on the relationships between our main characters, Jess and Rayna. The challenge is that the film is a ghost story on the surface, and I didn't want to distract the audience with elaborate visual effects for when Rayna comes back as a ghost. The relationship is primary in this story. To execute this, I focused on the camera work in preproduction: keeping all effects practical, long shots on a dolly with minimal cutting to allow the actors to play out the relationships, and letting the audience look inside at what Jules is going through.

I have worked with writer Laney Yoo before; She can write a story around a theme or an issue without hitting the audience over the head. Her story structure and dialogue are unique and specific and a joy to unlock. My cast is a diverse group of women who were all former acting students of mine at Stonestreet Studios NYU program. I could trust them to tell their version of the story. Having this rapport with them and the creative team made the shoot days light and easy. I say this in the most un-ironic way possible: we had a wonderful time making this film about death and loss.

Production was a few shoot days over three weeks and was a complete joy. It was in that spirit that the song at the end of the film was composed. I wanted to find a vocalist who had a sweet and simple tone and would leave the audience with a feeling of hope, strength, and happiness. I was lucky to find vocalist Aleck Rambaoa, a vocalist from the Philippines, who performed the song beautifully.

What I love about this story more than anything is it's a story for everyone: We all will lose those who are important to us and what matters is what you make of life, not what life makes of you.