Jamie Sisley: Last News

Naman Ramachandran Producer Shrihari Sathe of New York-based production company Dialectic is enjoying the best time of his life, with no less than three of his projects, each completely different in style, genre and tone, being selected at A-list festivals.The latest career high for Sathe began with Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s continent-hopping, multilingual identity tale “No Land’s Man” being selected at Busan in October 2021, followed by Francisca Alegria’s Spanish-language magical realist drama “The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future” premiering at this year’s Sundance. Now, “Stay Awake,” an expansion of Jamie Sisley’s 2015 short film of the same name that premiered at the Berlinale and won the Jury Prize at Slamdance, makes its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival’s Generation 14plus strand on Feb. 12.

“It’s important you keep your expectations in check:” In “Stay Awake,” the prescient debut of director Jamie Sisley, we meet two teenage brothers, Ethan (Wyatt Olef) and Derek (Fin Argus), who not only have to deal with the usual problems of adolescence, but also play the role of caretaker to a deeply depressive and self-destructive mother (Chrissy Metz) in the throes of addiction.

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Selome Hailu Cree Cicchino, Connor Kalopsis, Katy Mixon and Christopher Gorham have been cast in “Unplanned in Akron,” CBS’s teen-parenting comedy pilot from Schuyler Helford.The series follows two teenagers navigating parenthood in the best way they know how. With a little help from their friends and parents, they’ll learn that mistakes in life don’t have to derail your life — that no matter what age you are, taking care of a child is no joke — but sometimes, you just have to laugh (or cry) your way through it.Cicchino plays Brianna, who is sharp-witted, outspoken and unfiltered.

Manori Ravindran International EditorChrissy Metz, the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated star of “This Is Us,” stars alongside “It” actor Wyatt Oleff and Fin Argus in Jamie Sisley’s drama “Stay Awake,” which premieres at the Berlin Film Festival this week.The feature — which is based on Sisley’s 2015 short film of the same name — centers on brothers Ethan (Oleff) and Derek (Argus), who are trying their best to navigate the pressures of teenage life while tending to their mother’s (Metz) debilitating prescription drug addiction.Based on Sisley’s experience growing up in small-town America, “Stay Awake” is billed as “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.” In an exclusive clip shared with Variety, the two brothers are shown arguing about the money needed to pay for their mother’s rehabilitation treatment. The subject matter is especially resonant given the recent representation of America’s drug crisis on screen in shows such as Hulu’s “Dopesick.”“The themes and characters in ‘Stay Awake’ mean the world to me since they’re based on my childhood.

Jamie Lang Having recently wrapped shooting in upstate New York, the producers of Jamie Sisley’s debut feature “Stay Awake,” a dramatic family comedy about opioid addiction, have revealed key cast details.In the film, Emmy and two-time Golden Globe Award Nominee Chrissy Metz (“This is Us”) plays Michelle, a loving and well-meaning mother of two whose struggle with prescription drug addiction is adversely affecting her entire family. Wyatt Oleff (“It,” “I Am Not Okay with This”) plays Ethan, the quick-witted younger brother about to leave the nest, and Fin Argus (“Clouds”) plays Derek, the eldest sibling who’s desires to care for his family are keeping him from moving forward with his own life.