How To Stay Awake
Director: Vanessa Magic
Cast:Preeti Troul - Woman, Hanna Younis - Night Witch
Crew:Writer: Vanessa Magic Producer: Vanessa Magic, Viktor Čahoj Director of Photography: Viktor Čahoj, Editor: Arielle Skolnik, Production Designer: Kevin Hegge Costume Designer: Kristen Somberac, Makeup Artists: Jessica Panetta, Rahnell Branton, Ashley Branco-Sgrignuoli Composer & Sound Designer: Jeremy Glenn
Email:missmagicproductions@gmail.com
Synopsis
A woman fights to stay awake, to avoid battling the terrifying realm of sleep paralysis but as she risks everything to break free will she be released from the grip of her nocturnal tormentor?
Trailer
About the director
Vanessa Magic is a Canadian Screen-nominated director and award-winning writer, whose work centers around loneliness and grief, often from the eye of the outsider. Vanessa's passion is creating stories highlighting Black female protagonists and leaving the viewer learning something new and maybe unexpected. Inspired by her dreams, she is eager to create worlds and narratives untold, unseen and filled with magic. Her short films include The Future Above Us (2023), The Absurdity of the Black Female Experience (2023) and Oneironautic (2022)
Filmmaker's note
Have you ever had sleep paralysis? Do you see the old hag or the shadow man as they come to visit you, your body paralyzed? I had sleep paralysis once, where I felt the skeletal hand of a tall man dig into my side. I felt the pressure of its touch long after I woke up. I still wonder to this day who it was.