| Antonio Méndez Esparza | |
| Birth Date: | 7 January 1976 |
| Birth Place: | Madrid, Spain |
| Yearsactive: | 2006–present |
Antonio Méndez Esparza (pronounced as /es/; born 7 January 1976[1]) is a Spanish filmmaker based in the United States. He teaches at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts.
Méndez Esparza was born in Madrid, where he obtained a law degree. He studied filmmaking at the University of California, Los Angeles, and at Columbia University, where he received an MFA.[2]
His 2009 short film Time and Again (Spanish; Castilian: Una y otra vez) won the narrative short prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival[3] and earned him a Latino filmmaker prize at the Directors Guild of America's Student Film Awards.[4] His first feature, Aquí y allá, premiered in the Critics' Week at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and won the section's Grand Prize.[5] The film also received a special mention at the 2012 AFI Fest[6] and earned him a nomination for the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Director.[7] Both films depict experiences of Mexican migrants to the United States with non-professional actors.[8]
His second feature, Life and Nothing More, premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and won the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards.[9] Shot in Tallahassee with a small crew and non-professional actors, the film depicts a struggling African-American family in Florida.[10] [11] [12]
His third feature and first documentary, Courtroom 3H, premiered in competition at the 2020 San Sebastián International Film Festival.[13] The film documents proceedings in a Tallahassee family court presided by a judge with whom Méndez Esparza became acquainted while making Life and Nothing More.[14] [15]
In 2022, he directed the comedy thriller Something Is About to Happen, which he co-wrote with Clara Roquet based on the novel Spanish; Castilian: Que nadie duerma by Juan José Millás, in Spain.[16] [17]
| Year | Title | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Yanira | Short | |
| 2009 | Una y otra vez (Time and Again) | Short | |
| 2012 | Aquí y allá (Here and There) | ||
| 2017 | Life and Nothing More | ||
| 2019 | Courtroom 3H | Documentary | |
| 2023 | Que nadie duerma (Something Is About to Happen) |