Experiencing Interruptions?

Ro & the Stardust

A free-spirited teen fulfills her terminally ill grandmother’s dying wish of building a rocket ship to launch her into outer space.

  • Eunice Levis
    Director
    InVade, Fell Ends, Keep
  • Eunice Levis
    Writer
    InVade, Fell Ends, Keep
  • Rachel K. Ofori
    Producer
  • Elvis Nolasco
    Producer
  • Cindy De La Cruz
    Key Cast
    "Aurora Linares"
  • Nadya Encarnacion
    Key Cast
    "Celeste Linares"
  • Yolanda Nolasco
    Key Cast
    "Sonia Linares"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, fantasy
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 39 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 3, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Reel Sisters of the Diaspora
    New York
    United States
    November 5, 2022
    Best Narrative Short
  • Urbanworld Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    October 28, 2022
    New York
    Official Selection
  • Philadelphia Film Festival
    Philadelphia
    United States
    October 30, 2022
    Philadelphia
    Official Selection / Best Score in a Short
  • Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    September 17, 2022
    Los Angeles
    Official Selection, Best Sci-Fi Short
  • American Black Film Festival
    Miami
    United States
    June 18, 2022
    World
    Official Selection
  • Pan African Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    February 20, 2023
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Eunice Levis

Writer and director, Eunice Levis is a first-generation Dominican American from the Bronx, New York. Eunice's work focuses on genre-bending stories that combine her love of horror, sci-fi, thriller, and fantasy often through a diasporic lens. She is a two-time Sundance Lab Second Rounder, a Stowe Story Lab Fellow, and a NALIP Latino Lens fellow.

She recently wrote and directed “InVade”, a sci-fi short film, which made the second round of the 2020 Sundance Episodic Lab with its pilot script. Her urban gothic horror feature script “Keep” also made second round consideration for the 2021 Sundance Feature Development program. Her folklore horror micro short “Fell Ends” was an extraordinary selection at NYX's 13 minutes of horror film festival and streamed on Shudder.
Her latest film, an urban space fantasy titled “Ro & the Stardust”, is part of the 2021 NALIP Latino Lens Women of Color Short Film Incubator, sponsored by Netflix.

In addition to writing and directing, Eunice teaches and cohosts Café Negro con Genre, a podcast that promotes creatives working in the genre space. Eunice is a graduate of New York University and is managed by 3 Arts Entertainment.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I lost my father to lung cancer a few years ago. It wasn’t until he received the diagnosis that I really started to dig into his past and his personal wants. As immigrants from the Dominican Republic my parents had very little work options. The careers they dreamed about were put on hold and they obtained sustainable jobs and developed new dreams.
My dad came to this country on a sports visa, his dream was to play for the New York Yankees. This man was the ultimate fan, he bled blue and white. 6 weeks before he passed away, my brother and I took him on a private tour into the newly designed stadium. That day he walked the bases and cheered himself on. It was incredible to see him live out that dream.
At that moment, I realized how important it is to live your end of life with dignity and support. End of life doesn’t mean your hopes and dreams expire. They don’t magically disappear, a terminally ill person, is still a person.
“Ro & the Stardust” a bilingual (English/Spanish) live action urban fantasy about being seen, second chances and acceptance was developed from this experience. Fantastical Black and Brown narratives are rarely explored in genre work. This story allows me to explore the lengths one would go through to honor end of life decisions.