Speak Easy
An obsessive, socially awkward jazz pianist loses his one way of connecting with the world.
Mind-melting piano. Painful small talk.
We open in a jazz bar, and the energy is electric. Behind the keys is Moses, 29, the oddest guy you've ever met. What he lacks in social ease he makes up for with sheer talent.
Moses narrates his struggle to connect with people through a string of painfully awkward moments, including a family dinner with his grandmother, his parents and his very successful sister, Sarah Beth. The tension between Moses and his father's expectations is never far from the surface.
Moses doesn't care. He has something nobody can take from him: jazz. Until a car accident breaks his arm, and he has to move back home with no way to play.
The family
Moses
The pianistA neurodivergent, obsessive jazz pianist with almost no social filter. Moody and sometimes manic on the surface, he uses jazz to connect with the world around him.
Sarah Beth
His sisterThe successful, compassionate eldest daughter. A gifted vocalist and newly promoted music professor, she gets most of the attention but spends her energy worrying about her brother.
Dad
His fatherA blue-collar business owner who tells it like it is. He wants to see his kids succeed and struggles to understand a son who is often his biggest source of stress.
Mom
His motherLoving, present and optimistic to a fault. She arranges her life around keeping the peace, especially when it comes to her adult son.
Grandma
The matriarchEveryone is welcome at her house, but she will tell you exactly what she thinks of your jeans. The involved grandparent everyone wishes they had, with high expectations for her family.
The Kid
A new studentDry, curious and very bright. One conversation sparks an interest in jazz that changes things for both of them.
I always hated my brother. As a child, I found myself endlessly frustrated and confused by him. As I got older, I realized that I sorely misunderstood him, as did the rest of the world.
My brother is autistic, although he wasn't diagnosed until late in life. This has created many hardships for him relationally and socially, including with his own family. He is also a brilliantly talented jazz pianist. I have always found this dichotomy of social incompetence and genius musical ability to be something that must be explored cinematically.
As a way to connect with him and also express my love for jazz music (a love we both share), I wrote Speak Easy, a film he entirely inspired. Through this fun and quirky film, I explore the hardships of being misunderstood, the beauty of connection through music, the importance of mutual relational effort, and the irreplaceable value of family.
This one's for you, Austin.
Addison Cendejas, Writer and Director
The heart of the film is jazz.
Jazz runs through Speak Easy, performed live on screen and scored underneath. We are putting real care into the music selection and hiring a working band so every performance feels like a night in the club.
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