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■Go to the Japanese page https://www.makuake.com/project/stay/

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・You can pledge to this project only with credit card. (the following credit cards are accepted: VISA、MASTERCARD、JCB、AMEX、DINERS)
・Pledges cannot be cancelled so please read the descriptions of the rewards carefully.

A bittersweet love story about redemption, Stay, is the second feature film by Darryl Wharton-Rigby.

After losing his job at the fish market, a troubled former salary man struggles to remain sober in a society that does not give second chances. He meets and spends a weekend with a young woman, who brings hope into his life, but she can not stay .

Filmmaking is a collaborative process and we need your help with this campaign to raise funds for STAY to get it finished. We still have some more work to do as the film is being accepted by festivals around the world. We want to show the best version of STAY for the Japanese premiere and private screening.

This is an exciting time for filmmaking in Japan! STAY is unique. Although made by a foreign filmmaker, it shows Tokyo in a realistic and natural way. 

STAY has had screenings at the Urbanworld Film Festival, Worldfest Houston, and Japanfest Hamburg festivals. 

In June Stay will screen at the Dances with Films Festival in Los Angeles for its USA West Coast Premiere. This is Darryl Wharton-Rigby's third time screening at Dances With Films. His first feature, Detention screened at the first Dances With Films Festival and his thesis film, Prodigal, screened there in 2011.

STAY SYNOPSIS

Ryuu works hard at a little Tokyo fish shop, trying to get ahead - untii one day his boss calls him into his office. He's being let go - his past has caught up with him. Ryuu knew the day might come, but not so soon - his boss gives him some cash and food to tide him over.

On the way home "Ryuu runs into his old friend Bo, and his ex-girl, Risa. Bo slips a package into Ryuu's pocket -" you know. A little something to remember the good times. "On the house," Bo says. Risa flirts with him, trying to cheer him up - he ignores her, just wanting to go home and lick his wounds. 

He chills at the bar - until he locks eye with a girl on the dance floor. He dances with her and she leads him into the ladies room where they fool around.

After their wild adventure, Ryuu realizes he does not even know know her name. After running to Risa, Ryuu tired, finally catches an early train home - where to his surprise he sees the girl from the club. "My name is Hope," she says, "and I'm between places to live." Ryuu offers to let her crash at her his apartment. She initially declines - then changes her mind.

At the apartment the Ryuu and Hope crash hard. Later when she wakes, Hope smokes a joint. Ryuu, emerging from the shower, asks her to put it out. She stubs out out. Ryuu asks her to come with him for breakfast, a He caught and to pay up, they got to know each other - Hope even makes bet with Ryuu. He loses and to pay up, has to sing her a song.

Later, Ryuu takes Hope to visit with his grandmother. Hope spends more time with Ryuu in and around Tokyo, including Shinjuku Gardens, and the amusement park. It's a nice start to a relationship, until they run into Ryuu's ex-flame Risa on the same train. Ryuu ignores her, but she's persistent. Following Ryuu and Hope as they try to get away from her. Ryuu yells at her telling her Risa in no uncertain terms their relationship is over.

Ryuu makes dinner for Hope. After a great meal, they go out for dessert – and get mugged. The thief takes all of Ryuu’s money and Hope’s cherished necklace. Recognizing the mugger, Ryuu goes to his old friend Bo, who gives him an address. Ryuu goes to the mugger’s apartment and beats him up, but doesn’t get the necklace. Even though he was trying to protect her, Hope sees that Ryuu has a dark side.
Hope sits Ryuu down. She wants “the talk.” He begs her to stay, but she tells him that she has to go. He tells her about his drug addiction and she tells him about her ordeal in Tokyo. Ryuu eventually understands why she has to leave. Although both realize it’s over, the bittersweet moment leads to the couple making love.
The next morning, Hope asks Ryuu to wear one of his suits. He does, for her. On the way to the airport, they stop by a temple where Ryuu they pray together. At the airport, Hope buys a new tie for Ryuu’s suit. She tells him to look and be the best he can when finding a new job. Then, they say goodbye.
Alone, tired, and uncertain about where his life will go, Ryuu contemplates his life, again. He finds the packet that Bo gave him earlier in his coat pocket. He runs into Bo, who invites him over.
Risa is there, getting high. He’s almost tempted to try get into some bad habits until he sees something -- Hope’s necklace. Angry, Ryuu takes the necklace. Risa admits she set up the robbery. Any temptation he might have had is now gone. He rips the pipe out of Risa’s hand.
Ryuu leaves the house, holding the necklace. As he walks up the street, Ryuu smiles. He is very much filled with hope.

CAST

Shogen - Ryuu

Ana Tanaka - Hope

Shima Ohnishi - Bo

Natsuhi Ueno - Risa

Shoichi Honda - Sex Dude

Tei Tomari - Mugger

Michiko Kodama - Grandma

Kenji Iwaya - Supervisor

Izumi - Waitress

 

SHOGEN

Shogen was discovered as a model after graduating from college and soon he began his career on the walkways of Paris, Milan and London. He always had a keen interest in acting and returned to Japan in 2004 to start his career as an actor. 

His debut film was "Bloody Snake Under The Sun" (2005) which described life in Okinawa in the postwar period. Shogen played the lead role as a sanshin player and the film was nominated at the 20th Tokyo International Film Festival. He then took a keen interest in method acting and moved to New York in 2008 to train under luminaries such as Susan Baston and Roberta Wallch. 

In 2010, CNN chose Shogen for their "Tokyo Hot List: 20 People to Watch 2010", in part due to his outstanding performance in a short film remake of "Seven Samurai" as well as his selection as the face of the brand "Seven Stars ". 

In 2014, he played the role of Young Goken in "Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist" (a role he will reprise again this year) and he has just now finished playing the lead in "Kutinggalkan Cinta Di Okinawa" (I Left My Love In Okinawa), a television co-production between Japan and Malaysia. 

 

ANA TANAKA（アナ・タナカ）

Ana Tanaka is a British born International model and actress. You can recognize her from campaigns with brands such as L'Oreal, Sketchers and Tresemme. 

She started her career in theater at the young age of 5 years old. Stay is her feature film debut. 

Her latest venture is WEKOKO.com, an online clothing website with started in 2016, which sells 60 of the most unique, independent fashion designers in London, Europe and Los Angeles.

 

SHIMA OHNISHI オオニシ・シマ

Shima Ohnishi's breakout role was in the film Caterpillar. He has works on many films and television shows including Five to Nine, Taiyô no futa, and Yokokuhan: The Pain.

 

NATSUHI UENO ウエノ・ナツヒ

Originally from Tokyo, Japan Natsuhi Ueno has appeared in numerous films and television shows. She has had roles in Hula Girls, Yumeko's Nightmare, and The Intermission.

 

FILM COLLABORATORS

 

Darryl Wharton-Rigby - Writer / Producer / Director

Gudni Gudnason - Executive Producer

Christopher Rathbone - Executive Producer

Rob Schwartz - Co-Executive Producer

Jeremy Goldberg - Cinematographer

Yukako Shimada - Editor

Yu-Ting Su - Sound Designer

Toshio Hanaoka - Unit Production Manager

Ko Iwagami - Casting Director            

Makoto Takaoka - Sound Recordist

Jun Minei - Wardrobe Supervisor

Reve Taku Zen Ryu - Key Make Up / Hair

 

DARRYL WHARTON-RIGBY

https://www.facebook.com/YamakiyaTaikoMovie/

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/jflicks/

 

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Darryl Wharton-Rigby has worked diligently to create a niche for himself as a writer/director. He has an MFA in Film Directing from Chapman University and was a Lecturer for Morgan State University's Screenwriting and Animation program. He has earned awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Painted Bride Arts Center in Philadelphia, the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, the Caucus Foundation, and the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund for his work.  

Darryl wrote for two NBC television shows, Homicide: Life On The Street and Just Deal. His debut feature film Detention, received numerous honors and awards, including "Best Director" at the Urbanworld Film Festival and the "Audience Award" at the Atlanta Film Festival. Detention landed a DVD deal and aired on the cable channel BET.  His latest film, Stay, shot in Japan is on the festival circuit. It has recently won awards from the Miami Independent Film Festival, WorldFest Houston, and the Mexico International Film Festival.

Darryl first trip to Japan was in 2003 when he was hired by MTV to write a screenplay based on a manga. In 2005 Darryl moved to Japan and landed in Kawamata-machi in Fukushima as an English teacher for two years. During that time, he started working on a documentary project called Don Doko Don, about a taiko group that was displaced after the 2011 Great Quake, which is still a work-in-progress.

In Japan, he has worked on productions for NHK, Farfetch, Buzzfeed, Airbnb, and Usquaebach Whiskey. As an actor, Darryl has been featured in Commercial for Toshiba, Takara Tomy, Pocky, Omron, and Bit Flyer. Most notably he played the DJ in the hit AKB48 music video Koi Suru Fortune Cookie.

Darryl lives in Saitama and credits his wife and three children as his ultimate muse.

 

Gudni Gudnason - Executive Producer

A native of Iceland, Gudni Gudnason is a spiritual teacher, humanitarian, and philanthropist. He shown that by living a good spiritual life and adapting the tools of the Mystery Schools and Metaphysics in your life you will have success success any field of your choice. Mr. Gudnason created the entertainment company Fusion for Peace Productions. 

Mr. Gudnason has lived and studied all over the world but he now lives with his wife and two cats in Tokyo, Japan were he enjoys the elegant and perfect seeking lifestyle of the Japanese.

 

Christopher T. Rathbone - Executive Producer

He has worked as a legal translator since 2000 and has taught classes and provided seminars on legal translation and legal writing for Japanese, Korean, Cambodian and US universities, as well as the Tokyo offices of many top US law firms. 

As a long term resident of Japan, Mr. Rathbone's classes and seminars provide both practical information and cultural insights. In addition to legal writing and translation, he frequently gives presentations on diverse topics including Plain English, the legal profession in Japan and the US, and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (indoor smoking ban). Mr. Rathbone graduated with honors from the University of Saskatchewan and earned a JD from the College of Law of the University of Saskatchewan and an LL.M. from Hokkaido University as a Monbusho Scholar. He is admitted as an attorney in Massachusetts.

 

Rob Schwartz - Co Executive Producer

As a journalist he covers film, music, entertainment Son of famed Sociology professor and author Morrie Schwartz, Rob Schwartz, has for lived in Tokyo, Japan for more than 20 years. He is a music and film journalist and producer based in Tokyo, Japan. He and his contributing reporter to the Hollywood Reporter. He is partners with Mr. Gudnason in Fusion for Peace Productions.

 

Jeremy Goldberg - Cinematographer

Jeremy Goldberg is a leading fashion, lifestyle, beauty, music, and celebrity photographer who has photographed some of the world's most famous film stars, TV personalities, and elite fashion models such as Blake Lively, Jason Bateman, Amy Poehler, Denis Leary, Iman , and Kelly Ripa. Stay is his first feature film as a cinematographer.

 

Yukako Shimada - Editor

Yukako Shimada was born and raised in Kobe, Japan. After graduating from Nihon University, College of Arts, she headed to the United States and started the MFA program in Film Production at Chapman University to pursue a career as an editor. Yukako won the Best Another thesis film "Heal," which she edited, was screened at international film festivals and won 10 awards.   

Best editing at the Asians On Film Awards (2012), Winner of Dramatic Arts - Screen at The World Academy of Arts (2012), and Best Editing at, Cecil B. DeMille Award (2009) to name a few. Yukako established m-fab, LLC in 2015 to collaborate with international productions and filmmakers worldwide. 

 

Yu-Ting Su - Sound Designer

Originally from Taiwan, and a graduate of Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Yu-Ting Su has been working as a Sound Designer since graduating in 2011. In a short period of time, she has worked diligently to create soundscapes for feature and short films.

She has worked on numerous projects as a Sound Recordist and working he way up to supervising sound on feature films. Most recently, she was tapped as the Sound Designer for Darryl's feature film, Stay. 

FUND USE

We still have a lot of work to do before STAY is finally finsihed. We still need to do:

-ADR (additional dialogue recording

-Music Licenses

-Final 5.1 sound mix 

-Japanese subtitles

-Color grading 

-Final DCP 

-Submitting to more film festivals

-Marketing 

This campaign will help to pay for these goals towards getting the film complete. 

MUSIC

Jamie Lewis, Tandanori Kanno, Cocoon's, Oji Morris, Marc Evans, Lea Gilmore, Winslow Dynasty, Deeto, Terron Brooks, Tachikawa Haruka, Da Dreak featuring Cassie Holt, MUSIQUA, Maimouna Youssef, Shamanz, Carolyn Victorian, Cirrrcle, Hiroe Morikawa　

The soundtrack for Stay is meant to invoke a world that sounds like Tokyo. There is a mix of Japanese and Western music in the film's soundtrack.

Some of the artist on the soundtrack will be:

Jamie Lewis, Tandanori Kanno, Cocoon's, Oji Morris, Marc Evans, Lea Gilmore, Winslow Dynasty, Deeto, Terron Brooks, Tachikawa Haruka, Da Dreak featuring Cassie Holt, MUSIQUA, Maimouna Youssef, Shamanz, Oji Morris and Carolyn Victorian, Cirrrcle, Hiroe Morikawa and there will be a special song sung by Shogen.

FESTIVALS

AWARDS

-SILVER PLAM AWARD for NARRATIVE FEATURE FILM at Mexico International Film Festival

-SPECIAL JURY AWARD for FOREIGN FILM at Worldfest Houston Film Festival

- BEST FEATURE FILM for December Edition fo Miami Independent Film Festival

I sincerely hope that participation in the project trip to complete "Stay". Please extend this project to many people and have a wonderful day of film completion!

Please spread the word about our project. Create an excellent day.