LIFE AND NOTHING MORE American Independents

In AFI FEST alumnus Antonio Méndez Esparza’s sophomore feature, the gifted director observes the struggles of a family living in northern Florida — working-class mother Regina, and her troubled teenage son Andrew — with a compassionate eye, sharply focused on how their story echoes the systemic injustice directed toward black men and women in America. In a series of expertly framed long takes, Esparza allows the drama to unfold, aided by his cast of uncommonly gifted first-timers. This is, at its core, a story about the complex emotions between a young man whose circumstances may be driving him to the same bleak future as his imprisoned father, and the mother who holds on to her love for her son despite the hardships that ripple through her professional and personal life. – Mike Dougherty