Warner Brothers, AT&T and NorthStar Film Company come together to deliver the must-see indie film of the year; Still Here. A film The Los Angeles Times called “A wonder of cinematography and brilliance of acting talent.” Still Here is a film following the death of a young woman and how her best friend handles her absence, yet the spirit of this young woman refuses to leave her.
Tina, played by Lilly Dennis, very rapidly dies from aggressive blood cancer. Maggie, played by Stina Kalman, is her best friend and is never told about Tina’s illness until after her death. The death of her friend brings many repercussions for Maggie, especially as Tina’s spirit refuses to leave after she dies. The film mainly follows Tina’s spirit and her constantly trying to reach back into the lives of those she left and the consequences that she brings into the lives of those she loves trying to make contact. It’s the ultimate peace you find in grief that you are left with in the film’s conclusion.
The film was predominantly shot in Los Angeles at Warner Brothers and directed by Angela Benitez, a Second City and UCB Alum. Still Here, is a beautiful piece of cinematography and has gone on to be a huge hit in the festival circuit at current. In a recent interview the star of the film, Lilly Dennis, spoke about the film’s reception, “It’s kind of incredible to see how far the film has come, it is a very intense story and we are really honored that so many people are coming out to see it.” Ms. Dennis has had a huge amount of success on screen and stage since moving from Tasmania years ago and continuing her career in the US.
The film, while starting very light-heartedly travels very quickly into the dark realm of sickness and death. Watching the film, you get a very specific perspective of how fast cancer can progress and take the life of a perfectly healthy person. It has an obvious intent to highlight the reality so many people face daily. Still Here has select showings and it is definitely a movie you need to go out and see for yourselves.