Private Project

STAY

Two neurodivergent strangers' paths intertwine while grieving in a cemetery.

  • Regina Ainsworth
    Director
  • Megan McKenzie
    Writer
  • Mary Lou Belli
    Producer
  • Charles Dougherty
    Producer
  • Tim Dougherty
    Key Cast
    "Zack"
  • Megan McKenzie
    Key Cast
    "Alice"
  • Daniel Button
    Director of Photography
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 4, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    11,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED, 35mm, 3840X2160
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Regina Ainsworth

Born of the theatre as an actress, dancer, writer and director, Regina has successfully transitioned her love of movement and character driven storytelling to filmmaking. Her passion for amplifying authentic experiences that can inspire positive social change is what drives her activism in both her leadership and cinematic worlds.

Ainsworth spent a year amongst West End productions in London, and upon returning stateside, began directing regional theatre. With an eye toward directing episodic television, she landed a job at Warner Bros. Television. WBTV was her film school, as she worked with and observed over 120 productions, including Arrow, The Leftovers, Blindspot, Pretty Little Liars, and Westworld. It was after auditing the Television Director’s Workshop (a program she helped launch) that she made the transition into directing full time.

Regina is an award-winning filmmaker, whose work has resonated internationally. Selected credits include the independent pilot The Project, a supernatural horror short Perchance to Dream, two episodes of indie series Linked by Love and sci-fi indie darling Recombined (based on the YA SciFi Tankborn Trilogy novels). Tankborn's pilot, which she co-wrote with author Karen Sandler, was a Second Rounder in the Austin Film Festival, a Semifinalist in Filmmatic TV Pilot Awards, and is in the top 12% of projects on Coverfly. Regina is now in post production with her most personal piece yet, Unveiled, a magical realism proof of concept, exploring final moments of love and the tough transition from this world to whatever is next. When not directing live action you can find her on a sound stage directing voice actors for Netflix and Disney+. Ainsworth is also currently attached to direct feature films Overlooked, a modern Hitchcockian style thriller, and LORA, a supernatural ghost story.

As a two-time DGA Latino Committee Co-Chair, and Co-Founder of los directores, a Guild-level collective of Latino directors and director’s team members, Regina is dedicated to making the invisible visible, via equitable employment. In addition to her activism, she is also a member of the Chicana Directors Initiative, NALIP, and Women of Color Unite.

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Director Statement

Alice and Zach discover each other in the most unlikeliest of places – the cemetery – and a spark of romance begins to fill the void of loss.

Alice and Zach's journey loosely remind me of Marianne and Connel's relationship in the BBC Series Normal People. It had an essence of a uniquely bonded friendship through proximity of two souls who were unlikely to find themselves together, and yet here they are. There’s something pure and innocent about the way Zach and Alice bond, and how willing they are to show their scars in a way the rest of the living world has overlooked them. And that when they are together, the world around them ceases to exist.

In telling this story I leveraged the handheld nature of the camera to create intimacy through proximity and framing. I spent a lot of time coming in close, so we could be moved experientially as Alice and Zach ((played by remarkable actors Megan McKenzie and Tim Dougherty) go from absolute strangers to love interests over the course of the day. The shared eyelines and stolen looks heightens the feeling of excitement and in their rawness and awkward moments we are drawn in.

Ultimately neither Alice nor Zach will be a replacement for the deep loss they’ve experienced in missing their family members…but they have found each other, and are no longer alone. When they chose to STAY, they chose a new path toward healing and love. It is in lending a piece of yourself, in remaining open, that one may begin to heal. And a little bit of chemistry never hurts.