Of Mind and Music

Tomorrow evening, January 29, the independent film Of Mind and Music will have its first public screening at Baton Rouge's Manship Theatre. The film, which recounts the healing relationship that music provides an Alzheimer's patient and a scientist intent on helping her, was written, produced, and directed by Baton Rouge native Richie Adams.

Adams attended Catholic High then left Baton Rouge for Colorado and eventually Los Angeles. He returned to Baton Rouge ten years ago to open his own production studio, River Road Creative. His third feature film, Of Mind and Music was completed in 2014 after which it played the festival circuit. It has won multiple film-festival awards, including several Audience Award Winner accolades, three Best Actress awards, two Best Director wins, and a Best New Director nod at the Vancouver International Film Fest.

Screen time at festivals is one common route that independent producers use to generate exposure for and interest in their films, Adams said, a route that is increasingly competitive as access to basic production equipment becomes cheaper and generally more accessible. "It's not the only way, but it is one of the ways that independent filmmakers hope to get independent content seen, hopefully garnering interest and, ideally, a handful of awards that would grab the interest of distributors," said Adams.

It was at one such festival—the Sedona International Film Festival—that Adams was approached by Monterey Media's Jere Rae-Mansfield. With the support of a distributor, Of Mind and Music will be exposed to much larger audiences. In addition to the showing at the Manship, the film is also scheduled for a weeklong run at the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center in New Orleans starting February 12, and will open in select cities around the country after that.

Adams might have selected New Orleans—or any locale for that matter—as the city in which to premiere the film's public screening, but he opted for Baton Rouge as a result of the research assistance he received from Charlie’s Place Respite Center, a program of Alzheimer's Services of the Capital Area that provides opportunities for cognitive and social stimulation to those affected by the disease. "The time that I spent at Charlie's Place absolutely informed some of the writing in the screenplay and inspired certain scenes that make the film that much more realistic [and recognizable to] someone who's been a caregiver," Adams explained.

Based on a novel by LSU Health Sciences Center neuroscientist Nicolas Bazan, who originally approached Adams about helping him adapt the novel for screen, Of Mind and Music recounts the story of Dr. Alvaro Cruz (Joaquim De Almeida: Our Brand Is Crisis, Desperado, Fast Five, Clear and Present Danger) who returns home to New Orleans to find that his mother has Alzheimer's. Leveled by his inability to help her, despite all his expertise, he takes time off to immerse himself in his passion, the music of New Orleans. It is then that he meets Una Vida (Aunjanue Ellis: Quantico, The Book of Negroes, Men of Honor, The Help, Ray), a street singer who is also suffering from Alzheimer's. The doctor is drawn to help the singer reconcile her difficult life.  

The film also stars Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue, Grey's Anatomy), Bill Cobbs (Night at the Museum, Oz the Great and Powerful, The Bodyguard) and Ruth Negga (Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., World War Z, The Samaritan). This casting coup was made possible by the involvement of producer Brent Caballero, who brought major motion picture casting director Nancy Green-Keyes on board as a producer. "She is absolutely the reason that we were able to get the script in front of the amazing cast that we have," said Adams. (Incidentally, Aunjanue Ellis is also a cast member of The Birth of a Nation, the film which made headlines recently for landing a record-breaking $17.5 million deal at Sundance this year.)

Adams, producer Brent Caballero, and writer Dr. Nicolas Bazan will all attend the screening at the Manship tomorrow evening and will answer audience questions following the show. If you miss any of the theatre appearance, the film will also be available on digital services like Amazon or Netflix this coming spring.

manshiptheatre.com • 7 pm; $8.50 plus fees • ofmindandmusic.com