Speak Easy
Speak Easy, a short film

Speak Easy

A short film by Addison Cendejas

An obsessive jazz pianist who connects with the world through his music. Then a car accident leaves him unable to play.

Narrative short · Dramedy · Filming in Austin, Texas

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Close view of piano keys in warm light
The film

He speaks in jazz.

Moses is the oddest guy in any room, and the best piano player in it. Jazz is how he gets past every social barrier he can't get past any other way.

Then a car accident breaks his arm. Unable to play and forced to move back into his childhood home, he has to find a new way to reach the family who has never quite understood him.

Speak Easy is a fast-paced, funny and tender short about being misunderstood, the music that connects us, and the work it takes to meet someone where they are.

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From the filmmakers
“I always hated my brother. As I got older, I realized that I sorely misunderstood him, as did the rest of the world.”
Addison Cendejas, Writer and Director
Where it's headed

Aiming for the top

The team behind Speak Easy has done this before. Now they want to go further.

ShortlistedOur producers' last short, Ado, made the 98th Academy Awards shortlist
OscarAn Oscar campaign is the goal from day one
FestivalsSubmissions to Oscar-qualifying festivals worldwide
FeatureThe short is the first step toward a feature film
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Help us finish the film

We are raising the final $25,000 to make Speak Easy. Sponsors who join now are part of the story from the beginning.

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The crew

Made in Texas

Filmmakers from Waco, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, with credits from Cannes to the Academy shortlist.

Writer / Director / Producer

Addison Cendejas

Addison Cendejas is an award-winning filmmaker based in Waco, TX, and an MFA candidate in the Film and Digital Media graduate program at Baylor University. She previously worked as a development assistant in Los Angeles for Yoruba Saxon Production Company, founded by David and Jessica Oyelowo.

Her films have screened at festivals across the country, including Oscar-qualifying festivals such as the Austin Film Festival, and have earned multiple awards and nominations, including Best Director at AFMX. She wrote and directed Counterfeit, a short about human trafficking starring Jamie Perez (Netflix's We Can Be Heroes), and The Least of These, starring Bethany Anne Lind (Ozark).

Addison is a mother and storyteller with a passion for human stories that challenge and move an audience while pushing for hope and redemption in brokenness.
Producer

Rachel Jobin

Rachel is an Oscar-shortlisted producer and founder of Pedantic Duck Productions, based in Frisco, TX. Working across narrative shorts, features, documentaries and commercials, she has earned recognition from festivals including HollyShorts, Flickerfest International Short Film Festival and San Jose International Film Festival.

Rachel was lead producer on Ado, starring Jenifer Lewis, which was shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards in the Live Action Short category. Her other projects include an animated short featuring Janet Varney (The Legend of Korra) and The Bends, a motion capture research film backed by the University of Southern California's Entertainment Technology Center.

She is drawn to character-driven stories that take on complex topics while staying grounded in intimate human relationships.
Producer

Mia Gortney

Mia Gortney is a film and television producer based in Fort Worth, Texas. She works full-time as an Associate Producer for The Cowboy Channel, telling stories centered on Western culture through live sports and news programming.

Since 2022 she has also produced narrative short and feature films. Her credits include Associate Producer on the Oscar-shortlisted Ado and producer on the feature It's Raining... It's Pouring, currently in post-production. Her work has been recognized at the Dallas International Film Festival, Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, HollyShorts London and many others.

Mia is passionate about meaningful, character-driven stories and about creating opportunities for filmmakers to bring ambitious projects to life.
Co-Producer

Joe Koporc

Joe Koporc is a Dallas-based producer, cinematographer and colorist with a background in marketing and advertising. A graduate of Baylor University's Film and Digital Media program, he has worked as Director of Photography on an independent feature and a number of shorts and music videos, and as 1st Assistant Camera on multiple professional feature sets.

As Creative Director and Producer for Richard Karr Motors, he has built broadcast automotive campaigns that earned two Telly Awards, including a Silver Telly in Regional TV Automotive.

On Speak Easy, Joe leads social media marketing and the crowdfunding campaign. He believes the best campaigns, like the best films, start with a human story people want to be part of.
Meet the Full Crew