Roubado

"Roubado" (pronounced "Who-Bah-Du", portuguese for "stolen") tells the story of Alain Castelo, an introverted Afro-Portuguese teen growing up in the south of France. As he suffers his parents' recent breakup, the only solace he can muster is his penchant for photography. When his mother's new live-in boyfriend crosses the line, Alain's eyes are opened to the world and he can no longer hide behind the viewfinder of his vintage camera.

I was inspired to tell this story when I formed an unlikely friendship with a 16 year old photographer on the streets of Cannes, France four years ago. I traveled to France to attend the Cannes Film Festival (which I have attended for five consecutive years with films featured in the Short Film Corner and as a participant of the Marche du Film"). I happened to cross paths with the teen photographer, as I walked through the city. He did not speak English, but requested to take my photograph. Since our fateful encounter, we have maintained communication. The more that I have learned about his life, the more I realized how his existence as a Black male youth in France parallels that of the American teen experience.

Although the film is not biographical, my relationship with the teen inspired the film's protagonist, who became my vehicle for sharing this story with the world.

"Roubado" is my graduate thesis film for USC's School of Cinematic Arts, which I am a recent graduate of. The film was awarded the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, which allowed my cinematographer to shoot on 35mm film equipment.

Principal photography began in Los Angeles. But I traveled to Cannes with my cinematographer and lead actor to shoot additional scenes for the film. There, we collaborated with four female college students, who served the roles of 1st and 2nd AC, gaffer, and Assistant Director. We received a warm welcome from the city of Cannes and were allowed to shoot free of charge.

Other supporters of the film are Kodak, Panavision Marseille, and the Sundance Institute (who sponsored the film's scoring session).

A private screening of the film was held at the Writer's Guild of America, West. Also, the film was featured in the 2015 Pan African Film Festival and was screened at the Museum of Moving Image in Astoria, Queens.

I was recently awarded the Sundance Knight Fellowship and was an artist-in-residence at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. I am also a directing fellow for Film Independent's "Project Involve".

"Roubado" is my tribute to growing up in black skin, the loss of innocence of young men and woman, the agony of having to make adult decisions, and France, which sparked my very own coming of age.

Erica A. Watson