Stressed by the pressures of raising two children and getting by on her minimum-wage diner job, single mother Regina (Regina Williams) longs to find more to life than constant work, while she attempts to instill in 14-year-old Andrew (Andrew Bleechington) the values she hopes will prevent him from landing in prison like his father. Filmed in Florida, this beautifully crafted drama by Spanish-born filmmaker Antonio Méndez Esparza employs non-professional actors and documentary realism to create a remarkable snapshot of race, class and the bonds of family in contemporary America. The winner of the John Cassavetes Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards earlier this year, Life and Nothing More is also the latest film from CFI Releasing.

While not a professional actor, Regina Williams was nominated for Best Female Lead at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, opposite the likes of Frances McDormand, Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan, and Jessica Kiang in The Playlist called her “an utter revelation in one of the most compelling performances of the year.” Screen Daily critic Jonathan Romney wrote: “In the light of rising political and racial tension in the US following Charlottesville, there could hardly be a more timely, urgently charged film on the festival circuit than Life and Nothing More.” The film was named by Variety as one of the 10 best films at the Toronto Film Festival, and in Film Comment, critic Amy Taubin called it “a near-perfect film.”

Also starring Robert Williams and Ry’Nesia Chambers. Writer/Director: Antonio Méndez Esparza. (US/Spain 2017) 114 min.