About

Dead Letters is an intimate drama marking the feature debut of writer-director David Drake, anchored by a towering lead performance from three-time Emmy winner Margo Martindale as a long-haul truck driver forced to confront her turbulent past when her daughter's murderer faces parole. The film pairs Martindale with an acclaimed ensemble: Emmy nominee Stephen Root, Cole Sprouse, Oscar nominee Yalitza Aparicio, Jefferson White, and Wes Studi. Filming took place across southern New Mexico, with principal locations in Las Cruces and Ruidoso, employing over 100 local New Mexicans. The production, which wrapped in March 2025, was produced by Sam Bank and Helene Sifre of Braintrust alongside Juliet Berman of Spiral Stairs Entertainment. Martindale also serves as executive producer, bringing her considerable industry weight to the independent film. The New Mexico landscapes serve the story's emotional geography -- the vast, isolating stretches of highway that define a truck driver's life, and the small-town settings where the past cannot be outrun. For New Mexico location-spotters, Dead Letters represents the kind of character-driven independent film that New Mexico's production incentives have increasingly attracted alongside bigger-budget studio productions. Ruidoso, in particular, is a less-common filming location that adds visual variety to the state's on-screen portfolio.