Today we’d like to introduce you to Carla Curado
Hi Carla, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hello, my name is Carla Curado and 2 years ago I found out I spent most of my life watching it go by, like a movie. I grew up watching movies my whole life and I like to say fantasy saved my life. I was born in São Paulo, Brazil. Graduated from International Relations with a major in Business and Marketing and followed that career as a Marketing Manager at some big companies until my early 30’s, when I finally realized that I needed to listen to a little voice inside my heart, my inner child who always wanted to work and study cinema. When I was a little girl I had an urge to make up stories in my mind and it was deliciously weird. I had this secret wonderland, where I could make up situations, dialogues, and characters and they made me feel loved and with this unbelievable sense of belonging.
So in 2023 I decided to drop my job and start over. I enrolled in a Certificate in Screenwriting for TV and Film at UCLA Extension and came to LA. Finally living the dream!
I moved here not knowing anyone so at first my plan was to live in a student dorm. I felt like it could help me be around some people, just for starters, to make some new friends and get by in the first 3 months. But life is so full of wonderful surprises and I ended up staying in that same dorm for 1 year and a half and made more than friends, I found a new international family. We used to share the kitchen, a routine, and countless amazing moments together. I was even able to write and direct my first short movie with some of the people I met there, which was just selected to screen at the Lift-Off Sessions.
Besides having the time of my life and being able to be and feel like a young student again, I was lucky enough to learn from such wonderful people at UCLA Extension, both peers and especially my professors. Names like Roberto Marinas, Eric Abrams, John Henry Davis and Donald Hewitt helped me finish the first drafts of a feature film and a TV Comedy pilot. I got in touch with a lot of creative people and besides actually learning how to write and develop a story, I also learned how to share my creations, be open, listen to feedback and notes from others, as well as giving some myself.
The thing I heard the most when coming here was “Wow! You’re so brave.” Yes, I guess so. But the thing is, when you’re unhappy with something and somewhere and you do have the privilege to go where you want and start over, what we hear about never being too late becomes more than true. I feel like all my choices led me here, now. I feel extremely grateful for doing this now, at my age of 30, because I feel more prepared than ever before to dive in to the next challenges life has to offer me!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all! There are a few practical challenges like money and living in a different country, adapting to a new culture. But for me, the challenges were more mental than anything else.
First of all, leaving your home country and being open to a new life, starting from the bottom, sharing a room and a bathroom, for example. But more than that, it’s important to keep an open mind and eye for everything that will come.
To keep believing in myself, that I made the right choice for myself, and not listening to eventual comments about my age, is another example of a mental challenge.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I came here to become a writer and I like to say I did accomplish that! I’m a writer and I’m most focused on writing dramas, with a specific eye for human connections. My favorite parts to write are the dialogues and I’m working on getting more and more specialized on that.
I’m proud of all my work so far. To be able to say I wrote a movie, a TV pilot, a short movie that was produced, and my other work-in-progress projects are all things I’m very proud of because the Carla from a few years ago never thought that would be possible. But, well, here I am!
What makes you happy?
I have a goal to have a laughing fit per day. I love to laugh! Little moments with my friends, a good movie, or watching the same episode of Friends for the 20th time make me happy.
Being able to sit down and put into words the stories and dialogues I create in my head makes me happy.
The fact that I go to the same coffee shop almost every day to write or read and the barista knows my name makes me happy.
To acknowledge the number of good people I can call friends and that I can count on during this process and journey makes me happy. But also to know that I have a home with my family and my oldest friends to go back to makes me happy.
To go on a good brunch, take pictures, and make content makes me happy.
My dog makes me happy.
The gym makes me happy. To see how strong I’ve become makes me happy.
So basically the little big things in life that makes us who we are.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://carlacurado.com
- Instagram: @carla.curado
- Other: @justbrunchit
Image Credits
Second image by Zenon Samuels
