You’re on a train. You don’t know where it started, and you’re not sure where it ends. But you’re not alone.

Synopsis

A solitary train ride unfolds into a quiet encounter with the strange, the familiar and the unspoken - as one passenger begins to question who these fellow travellers really are.

Story

Charlie boards a train with no clear destination. Around them sit a handful of strangers - some watchful, some silent, some oddly familiar. As the journey progresses, time begins to slip and memory becomes unstable. Are these people figments, echoes, or something more? They Persist is a meditative, nonlinear film about the presence of others in our private experiences - and the identities we carry, confront or leave behind. Through minimal dialogue, atmospheric detail and layered performances, the film explores themes of grief, gender, dissociation and queer memory without ever naming them outright.

Background

Written by Tristan Woodington, and created as part of their Master of Research project at Macquarie University, the film draws from lived experience and personal reflection. With director Lachlan Salvestro and a close-knit crew, the project was shaped through creative dialogue and experimentation during production and post.

Currently in its editing phase, the film uses its nonlinear structure and shifting tone to explore questions of identity, disassociation and personal memory.

Screenings

They Persist is currently in post-production and will premiere in 2026.

You’re on a train. You don’t know where it started, and you’re not sure where it ends. But you’re not alone.

Synopsis

A solitary train ride unfolds into a quiet encounter with the strange, the familiar and the unspoken - as one passenger begins to question who these fellow travellers really are.

Story

Charlie boards a train with no clear destination. Around them sit a handful of strangers - some watchful, some silent, some oddly familiar. As the journey progresses, time begins to slip and memory becomes unstable. Are these people figments, echoes, or something more? They Persist is a meditative, nonlinear film about the presence of others in our private experiences - and the identities we carry, confront or leave behind. Through minimal dialogue, atmospheric detail and layered performances, the film explores themes of grief, gender, dissociation and queer memory without ever naming them outright.

Background

Written by Tristan Woodington, and created as part of their Master of Research project at Macquarie University, the film draws from lived experience and personal reflection. With director Lachlan Salvestro and a close-knit crew, the project was shaped through creative dialogue and experimentation during production and post.

Currently in its editing phase, the film uses its nonlinear structure and shifting tone to explore questions of identity, disassociation and personal memory.

Screenings

They Persist is currently in post-production and will premiere in 2026.

You’re on a train. You don’t know where it started, and you’re not sure where it ends. But you’re not alone.

Synopsis

A solitary train ride unfolds into a quiet encounter with the strange, the familiar and the unspoken - as one passenger begins to question who these fellow travellers really are.

Story

Charlie boards a train with no clear destination. Around them sit a handful of strangers - some watchful, some silent, some oddly familiar. As the journey progresses, time begins to slip and memory becomes unstable. Are these people figments, echoes, or something more? They Persist is a meditative, nonlinear film about the presence of others in our private experiences - and the identities we carry, confront or leave behind. Through minimal dialogue, atmospheric detail and layered performances, the film explores themes of grief, gender, dissociation and queer memory without ever naming them outright.

Background

Written by Tristan Woodington, and created as part of their Master of Research project at Macquarie University, the film draws from lived experience and personal reflection. With director Lachlan Salvestro and a close-knit crew, the project was shaped through creative dialogue and experimentation during production and post.

Currently in its editing phase, the film uses its nonlinear structure and shifting tone to explore questions of identity, disassociation and personal memory.

Screenings

They Persist is currently in post-production and will premiere in 2026.