You.Sleep.Stay

81-year-old Fred has lived in a state institution for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities for 50 years. Now, with the facility closing, he reunites with his brother to search for a new place to call home. Through Fred’s journey, this documentary explores time, community, and the undeniable bond of family.

Deaf and unable to sign or speak, Fred Ashnaugh has lived at Polk State School since childhood after his family, overwhelmed by his severe developmental delays, could no longer care for him. Though mentally at a 37-month level, he communicates through emotions, gestures, and sounds, forming bonds with his caregivers.

Now 81, Fred faces an uncertain future as the institution closes. Despite his infrequent visits, his brother John shares a deep, unbroken bond with Fred and helps him find a new place of residence. As Fred and John reconnect, the film unearths past traumas, exploring their fractured relationship and their mother’s struggles—revealed through old journals—making Fred’s fate feel both heartbreaking and inevitable.