​​They Won't Let Me Wake Up is a horror / documentary film written, directed and produced by Trent Anthony Francis that pushes the boundaries of indie digital filmmaking that explores the real life accounts of people who experience sleep paralysis.

​

Brought to life through a unique combination of digital video art, real actors and haunting industrial sound design produced by Audrey Vixen, all interwoven with the compelling testimonies of real people. The film is what Trent describes as visually,  ‘a waking nightmare’.

​

This film blends the chilling realism of traditional documentary filmmaking with the unsettling aesthetics of analog horror. Real people share their personal encounters with the entities that haunt their sleep, their stories interwoven with visual representations of the horrors brought to life on screen for the first time.

​

The film explores the diverse cultural interpretations of this phenomenon, delving into the folklore and mythology that have shaped our understanding of these nightmarish encounters.