Story

A Room Full of Nothing is a Feature Film written by Duncan Coe and produced by TurtleDove Films. It explores the ideas of the complexity of modern relationships, the transient nature of art, isolationism & escapism and classic absurdity. The story follows Phyllis, a collage artist, and Barry, an actor, as they navigate reality when their world is unexpectedly turned upside down.

After both receive harsh criticisms they become despondent and dejected and they retreat into their own alternate reality and adopt a form of escapism where they reinforce their everlasting love for one another and eschew all of the critics and naysayers in their life. Renewed in their love for one another they wake up one day to find that they’ve accidentally willed all of the people in the world to disappear. Basking in the freedom of the unburdening of societal obligations they embark on an adventure of playful antics.

It is a story of unwavering love, the brutality of the artist’s life, and the destructiveness of creative mind . It explores what it means to be human, the strength of love, the nature of existence, and how our individual experiences shape our perception of the world around us.

Writer's Statement

The story comes from a very personal place. I've dedicated myself to a life of art and struggle endlessly with self-esteem and confidence, especially in a city where the cost of living is astronomical and creative spaces are being torn down for mixed use commercial buildings and condos. It can be difficult to muster up the will to make art, but ambition and the will to create are often enough motivation to persist. It's this tumultuous lifestyle that makes up the world of the characters of this film.

 
It’s no coincidence that the story is influenced by a 20th century absurdist novel and a 1st century fable that share a near identical title: Metamorphosis and Metamorphoses respectively. The absurdity of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis inspires this story by its embrace of the nonsense and comedy of our internal fears manifesting themselves in our external environment. It is equally inspired by the fable of Baucis and Philemon as told by the Roman poet Ovid. In his epic poem these two lovers are granted eternal companionship when they’re rewarded for their good deeds and transformed by the gods at their collective death into an intertwining pair of trees in a deserted bog.

-Duncan Coe, writer/director

Project Status

A Room Full of Nothing is the first feature film from TurtleDove Films, a company co-owned by Elena Weinberg and Duncan Coe. Their debut project was the web series #ATown which was written by and starred Elena and was produced by her and Duncan. It was the recipient of the Austin Chronicle's Reader's Choice Award for Best Web Series in Austin in 2014. That same year Duncan was a finalist in the Jameson First Shot writing competition with Kevin Spacey and Uma Thurman.

Principal Photography will take place in Austin, Texas in the winter of 2017/2018.