Paul Romero Mendez talks the making of short film ‘While It Lasts’

Filmmaker Paul Romero Mendez right gives an interview at the Rome International Film Festival Photo by Sammie Purcell Last year Paul Romero Mendez brought his short film Ruth to the Rome International Film Festival RIFF The film follows a woman named Ruth Ania Marson who struggling with dementia becomes lost in her own home This year Mendez is looking at dementia from another perspective His short film While It Lasts played at this year s film festival over the weekend The movie written by Katie Sheridan is about a daughter Sheridan whose mother Tracey Wilkinson is suffering from early onset dementia The daughter tries to connect with her mother through the power of music Ruth looked at what it was like for the person with dementia how scary it can be when the house around you changes people disappear Mendez reported This time around it was how arduous it is for the family members and how tragic it can be for them but also how music can help with that Coming out of Ruth Mendez didn t intend to make another movie about the same heavy subject But when Sheridan brought him the script he couldn t say no When I read that script I thought this is beautiful and there s so much to it with music and memory he stated It felt like a nice thing to explore Mendez disclosed Sheridan was a match collaborator willing to make adjustments to the script as necessary during filming if something didn t feel quite right on the day It was great having the writer there giving their thoughts and giving their ideas Mendez stated But then she s so professional as an actress that she knows exactly when it s time for her to be performing When it came to casting Sheridan s counterpart Wilkinson Mendez stated she brought out the character s musicality in a way he didn t expect You can tell that she s very musical that she s trying to remember things by her fingers trying to find notes Mendez commented This is really unique she s brought something to the character that we haven t thought about Music is pivotal in While It Lasts serving as the thing that s able to pull the mother character back into herself and help her recognize her daughter To come up with the piece that would hold that power Mendez employed Christian Lloyd who has worked with him on numerous other projects The music for this was so significant Mendez noted We needed it to feel like a piece that mum had composed But also the end of the film adapts it and turns it into a result Mendez has directed a number of music videos in the past but he commented that when it comes to putting into words how music should evoke feeling he is musically illiterate But Lloyd was able to take Mendez s long wordy descriptions and create something beautiful He wrote such a beautiful piece he stated It plucks every heartstring For specific of the shoot Mendez was able to shoot in an actual nursing home which provided real-life inspirations for the actors and the crew The sense of loneliness that exists in a place like that seeped into the fabric of the film The staff there are so well trained and they do such an amazing job Mendez announced But you can t help but feel that these people are in this home and until their family comes to visit it s quite a lonely place to be even though the staff keep them all motivated and happy This is the second time that Mendez who resides in the United Kingdom has attended RIFF He stated that one of the reasons he loves RIFF is the overwhelming sense of public and endorsement for indie filmmaking that resonates through the town The whole society comes together he reported You stay for all the events you meet all the people Mendez also revealed he liked the fact that RIFF focuses on work that otherwise might not be as well seen such as independent films and short films He talked about how intricate it can be to make a short film and create a satisfying middle beginning and end in such a short amount of time And once you finish a short film there s the small matter of convincing people to indeed watch it There s so much content out there that people are overwhelmed by options he declared Which is a little bit sad because amazing movies amazing short films are lost in a sea of what I call content The post Paul Romero Mendez talks the making of short film While It Lasts appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta