Spilled Tea is a comedic short film by St. Petersburg-based filmmaker Devin A. Rice, featuring Gulfport’s Brenda McMahon Gallery.
Photo by Brenda McMahon
Gulfport got a taste of Hollywood in October, when a short film was shot at the Brenda McMahon Gallery on Beach Boulevard.
Spilled Tea is a 10-minute comedy by St. Petersburg-based filmmaker Devin A. Rice. It follows a hitman and his junior partner, who bungle a job, Rice said.
Their mark is a gallery owner, which meant that Rice needed an art gallery to film. He’d scouted a few galleries in St. Pete, but they didn’t have the right look.
Then, while having lunch at Stella’s one day, they noticed the Brenda McMahon Gallery across the street, thinking “what’s up with that gallery?” Rice said.
The gallery specializes in fine art and contemporary craft, and features McMahon’s own ceramic work. Rice said finding it was serendipitous.
Spilled Tea, A Short Film
Back in May, Rice approached McMahon about using her gallery. They discussed the plot, McMahon said, to be sure she was comfortable with the content.
Spoiler alert — she was. Fast forward to a Friday in October, and the film crew arrived early in the morning to begin production. They only had a four hour window to shoot before the gallery opened for business.
“It was crazy short,” Rice said. “We went over about 15 minutes, but Brenda was super sweet.”
The 13 crew members and four actors are all local.
Photo by Brenda McMahon
McMahon said watching the shoot was really fun.
“It’s kind of neat to see that setting in a completely different artistic form,” she said. “We have our artistic forms, and they have theirs … it’s just really cool to see all the different takes, why they take another take, all the nuance.”
The 13 crew members and four actors are all local. Rice said he enjoys working with a small crew because it becomes like family.
He specifically wrote the gallery owner’s role for the actor Eric Casaccio. He wore his own clothes, including a red velvet blazer.
The rest of the film was shot in locations around St. Petersburg. Now that filming is completed, Rice will edit it and compose its score (he’s also an animator, colorist and photographer). Next, he’ll have a test screening and continue tweaking it before he starts submitting it to national and international film festivals.
A Local Filmmaker
Rice lived in St. Petersburg in high school and went to Eckerd College. He spent the first 25 years of his filmmaking career in Central Florida, then moved to the West Coast, living in California for 20 years, he said.
In 2020, he moved back to St. Petersburg and has made several films here since. He spent two years making the documentary, Underground History with his producing partner, Polita Glynn.
It’s about the “systemic erasure of indigenous and Black culture and St. Pete and surrounding areas,” he said.
He also teaches film part time at the University of Tampa.
“I get to work with young, zealous filmmakers at the beginning of their careers, which is also fun for me,” he said.
To learn more, visit devinrice.com.
Arts All Around!
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