Sandrine Orabona: A Few Of My Favourite Things

I must have fallen in love with telling real stories because my childhood was so culturally rich.

I spent the school year in the U.S. and summers in the south of France, where I was born and much of my family still lives. French connected my large, scattered family across France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Corsica, Lebanon, Morocco and Cameroon.

Back in Miami, I was immersed in a vibrant melting pot of fast-paced Spanish, Afro-Latin beats, Cuban sandwiches and café con leches. Rich narratives unfolded daily, and when I picked up my first camera at 14, I started documenting everything around me.

While I honed my technical skills by keeping a camera at my side, my storytelling instincts came from my upbringing. Growing up among diverse cultures sharpened my ability to follow nuanced narrative threads, often revealed in the artists, athletes and people I document. A balance of mementos and technology in my work keeps me grounded and inspired.

The Helm

This is the helm from my grandfather’s boat. 

He lived in Marseille, in the south of France, and owned a small boat called a “pointu,” a typical style of the region. 

I would sail with him and my family when I went home on summer vacation, and when I was eventually old enough, I was allowed to sail the boat myself. 

After he passed away, the boat was donated to an organization that restores them, but I inherited the helm and the ship’s name sign.

The Splicer

I began my career as an editor, and though I never professionally cut film, I did have a couple of projects in school that required me to cut and splice 16mm. 

Digital non-linear editing offers the freedom of trying different ideas as fast as the brain can conceive, quite handy in the unscripted world of documentary filmmaking. 

Cutting a print, however, requires a bit more thought and confidence in the choices you’re making before using the blade.

The Cameras

Freshly graduated from film school and at dinner with my family on summer break in France, I told my uncle that we had shot on a number of cameras, including a 16mm hand-cranked Bolex. 

“Oh, your grandfather has one of those,” he said. “He actually has quite a few cameras; he filmed us a lot when we were younger.” 

I stared at my grandfather, who had not once told me about his passion and might possibly explain why I’d been obsessed since I first picked up a camera. 

My grandfather gifted me the Bolex that night, grumbling about how it was too old anyhow and what would I want with such a relic. 

When he passed, I was given all his cameras, his light meter, and the rolls of 8 and 16mm film he shot of the family over the years. 

I’ve since used the Bolex on a few projects.

The Floorboards

These are pieces of floorboards from studios D and F at Debbie Reynolds’ dance studio. 

Debbie created the space in 1979 so she and her friends would have a place to work and create, and for decades, countless films, music videos, and performances were rehearsed in the building. 

You can still see the scuff marks on the floorboards where performers such as Lucille Ball, Shirley McClain, and the Temptations practiced and took classes. 

Patrick Swayze’s mother taught ballet at the studio. Michael Jackson’s Thriller was rehearsed there, as well as Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour, Arianna Grande’s God is a Woman performance for the VMAs, and many others. 

Debbie passed away in 2016, and the building was sold in an auction because her son, Todd Fisher, could not afford the taxes on the property. 

I documented the last three weeks of the studio space as professional and aspiring dancers alike came to pay their respects, and one by one, the pieces of the studio – floors, bars, mirrors – were salvaged in hopes of someday finding a new home. 

It was demolished and replaced by a residential building on Lankershim Boulevard.

The DV Camera

I bought this camera with money from my first few gigs as a production assistant. 

It spent years by my side, and with it, I honed my shooting skills, documenting friends, trips, and eventually performers such as Shakira and Dave Matthews for music documentary pieces. 

On my most recent film, A Radical Act: Renee Montgomery, I used it to shoot material that matched the archival footage our subject gave us.

The Dia de los Muertos Figurine 

I don’t remember where I got this little guy, but I really love him. 

He hangs out on the edge of the speakers at my workstation.

The Piece Of Eight

This is one of the cursed pieces of eight from the first installment of the Pirates of The Caribbean franchise. 

I worked on these projects as a producer on the documentary behind-the-scenes content of the first three films and was gifted the coin by a close collaborator.