"Roubado"
“Roubado”

Erica A. Watson’s short film “Roubado,” which has played at over 50 film festivals in the past two years, is now finally available online via Issa Rae’s YouTube channel #ShortFilmSundays.

Watson’s USC School of Cinematic Arts MFA thesis film, “Roubado” centers on Alain Costelo, an introverted Afro-Portuguese teen growing up in the south of France. Agonized by his parents’ breakup, his only solace is his photography. But when his mother’s new live-in boyfriend crosses the line, Alain’s eyes are opened to a world, and he can longer hide behind his camera. The film stars Darrell Lake (“The Incredible Life of Darrell”), Jean-Pierre Vertus (“La Fleur d’Haiti”), Mickaëlle X. Bizet (“American Crime”), and Tiffany Tenille (“Suitable”).

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Shadow and Act has been reporting on “Roubado” since before their initial and wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, which allowed Watson and her team to film in Cannes – where the director first met the inspiration for her main character – and the film has also allowed Watson to be a Sundance Knight Fellow and Film Independent Project Involve Fellow, among other significant achievements.

First released in 2014, “Roubado” took the film festival circuit by storm throughout the United States as well as in India, Romania, Greece, Ukraine, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, France, Mexico, Cameroon, Canada, Antigua, and Barbados.

Watch “Roubado” now on Short Film Sundays, and see more about it on the film’s Facebook page.