Award-winning indie film was shot in Tallahassee's backyard

Mark Hinson
Tallahassee Democrat

The low-budget, independent movie “Life and Nothing More” was shot in two months in such humble locations as a truck-stop cafe off Interstate 10 in Madison County and along Holton Street in south Tallahassee. 

“Life and Nothing More” tells the story of a hard-working single mom and waitress who is trying to keep her African-American teen son out of the quicksand of the juvenile justice system. The non-professional actors worked off a script but improvised nearly all of their lines. It was written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Antonio Méndez Esparza, who teaches at The Florida State Film School.

“I never thought I would make a film in English,” Méndez, 42, said over lunch this week. “But now I’m glad I did. I’m very happy with the film.”

Instead of falling off the radar, like many serious-minded indie films do, “Life and Nothing More” was a hit with critics at the Toronto International Film Festival in late 2017. In March, it captured the prestigious John Cassavetes Award during the televised 2018 Independent Film Spirit Awards in Los Angeles. The prize is given to the best feature-length movie made for under $500,000.

“Well, we were not expecting this,” a stunned Méndez said during the awards ceremony. “This was a labor of love.”

This weekend, Tallahassee film fans will get a chance to watch the award-winning movie that was shot in their own backyard. “Life and Nothing More” is being shown at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Florida State Student Life Cinema, 942 Learning Way. It’s the featured attraction as part of the annual “A Movie You Haven’t Seen” programming as part of the Opening Nights arts series. Méndez will be on hand to field questions after the screening. Tickets are $35 general public. Call 850-644-6500 or visit openingnights.fsu.edu.

Two of the movie’s executive producers are fellow FSU film faculty members: director Victor Nunez (“Ulee’s Gold,” “A Flash of Green”) and Paul Cohen, who runs The Torchlight Program at FSU.

“We didn’t have to do much,” Cohen said. “Antonio knew what he was doing, so we just left him alone and let him do his work. If he ran into a snag, he’d call us if he needed us.”

Méndez admits the film really fell into place when Regina Williams, a real-life waitress at the Waffle House on Mahan Drive near Interstate 10, was cast as the single mom. Williams had tagged along with her sister for an open audition call. Williams was spotted and cast as the no-nonsense, profanity-slinging mother on a mission.

“It really felt right,” Williams said of the story line. “It’s something I see every day. So I just went for it.”

When the shooting started, though, Williams initially thought the material might paint an unflattering portrait of a working-class black family in the South.

“I got a little itchy with it,” Williams said. “I didn’t want to do anything to bash the African-American community.”

After working with Méndez on the set for a few days, Williams changed her mind.

“He wanted it to be as real as possible,” Williams said. “It was genuine. He’s a wonderful person. He finds the good in everybody. He’s brilliant. He’s quiet but very funny.”

When Williams finally saw the finished project at The Toronto Film Festival, she was floored.

“It struck me, it didn’t hit until I was in the movie theater,” Williams said. “I didn’t think it would be so awesome. After it was over, everybody was crying and I was crying, too.”

Williams will also be on hand to greet the audience after the screening at FSU this weekend.

“Casting is so important, you’re looking for people who can relate to the character,” Méndez said. “And she (Williams) knew this character.”

“Life and Nothing More” is the sophomore effort for Méndez, who grew up in Madrid and moved to Tallahassee in 2013. His first movie, “Aquí y Allá (Here and There),” told the story of an immigrant who returns to a small town in Mexico with hopes of starting a band. “Aquí y Allá” won the International Critics' Week Grand Prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in France.

Méndez joked that winning a critics’ prize at Cannes doesn’t carry much weight when you’re making a guerrilla-style film on the streets of Tallahassee. When Méndez and his crew were filming a scene along Thomasville Road, in which the teenager character (Andrew Bleechington) was walking alone along a sidewalk, a police officer pulled up. Méndez and crew expected the worst.

“She asked what we were doing and I told her I was a Florida State film professor and we were making a movie,” Méndez said.

Instead of shutting down the shoot, Méndez said the officer circled around and gave the crew members a protective escort, blocking one lane of traffic, as they nailed the tracking shot.

“If I told her I won a big prize at Cannes, it would not have been the same,” Méndez said and laughed. “But everyone in Tallahassee was like that when we were making the movie. Every community welcomed us and made us feel at home.”

Contact Mark Hinson at mhinson@tallahassee.com

 

If you go ...

What: Opening Nights presents "Life and Nothing More" as part of the "A Movie You Haven't Seen" series. It's not rated (profanity, sexual content, smoking)

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Florida State Student Life Cinema, 942 Learning Way

Cost: $35

Contact: 850-599-6500 or visit openingnights.fsu.ed