Behind the Scenes with an Underdog Story: halflife* and Spare Parts

Some of our favorite work happens away from the edit bay entirely — camera in hand, sitting across from the people who bring a story to life. That was the case with Spare Parts (2015), the Lionsgate drama based on the true story of four undocumented high school students from Phoenix who built an underwater robot on a shoestring budget and beat MIT at a national robotics competition. halflife* was brought on to produce the film's EPK (electronic press kit) — and it put us in the room with an extraordinary cast.

Our team sat down with George Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis, Marisa Tomei, Esai Morales, and Carlos PenaVega, capturing interviews alongside behind-the-scenes B-roll from the production. Much of Spare Parts was filmed right here in Albuquerque, giving us a front-row seat to a story that felt personal in more ways than one — a true underdog tale, told with heart, landing in our own backyard.

The film went on to earn real recognition, taking home Best Director (Sean McNamara) and Best Actor (George Lopez) at the 2015 Imagen Awards, alongside a Best Picture nomination — honors that celebrate excellence in Latino representation on screen. It's the kind of story halflife* is proud to help tell, both in front of the camera during production and behind the scenes, shaping how audiences first got to know it.

From assistant editing to full post pipelines to press kits packed with A-list interviews, halflife*'s fingerprints show up in every corner of a production — because great stories need more than one kind of storyteller.