Check Out Marie Rouhban’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marie Rouhban.

Hi Marie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
“Chassez le naturel, il revient au galop.” This common French proverb indicates that if you chase what feels natural to you, it will come back at full tilt one day.

Throughout my life, film has remained an ever-present motif. I consider cinema as an escape to new places and times but additionally as an opportunity to perceive things differently. Films are so powerful in the sense that they give us perspective and hindsight that we occasionally overlook but which are helpful in being empathetic. It was always fascinating to me how watching a film for two hours could have such a profound effect on my motivation, beliefs and even purpose. This is what led me to want to pursue a career in the movie industry: to tell stories that could make people see through a different prism and lead to bigger tolerance.

However, when I was seventeen and had to choose an academic path, I was not confident enough to pursue cinematic studies. This led me on a small detour to where I am today. I went to business school and then worked for big corporations such as L’Oreal, Kraft Foods and even The Walt Disney Company. Finally, I worked for a smaller company where I was lucky enough to manage a team of creative profiles. We were in charge of developing videos. Writing, directing, editing… it all became natural and I was truly fulfilled by working on creative projects on a daily basis. I also enjoyed a lot the directing aspect of managing a team: seeing them grow and deriving the best out of their creativity by installing a trustful relationship. After three years with this company, around my thirtieth birthday, I began contemplating my next career step and it seemed logical to finally pursue what had always given me so much joy.

I’ve been in Los Angeles since 2021, working as a director and it’s difficult to put into words how much I’m thriving from this career change. I feel very grateful to be finally growing within such a stimulating and professional environment and I’m beyond excited for what comes next!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Things were actually pretty smooth until I decided to change everything around! That professional steadiness was comforting and made me feel safe. But despite that, I felt out of place and that’s what led me to reflecting on my life: if things are seemingly ok and on the right track, why do I feel like there’s something missing?

I had been in therapy for a while already at this point and started exploring deeper topics such as my reason to be and what truly motivated me. It turned out that that steady track was not the one for me and that it was time to design my own path. It wasn’t easy to get to the bottom of my fears, confront them and allow myself to do something that profoundly meant something to me.

As for my current life, it is far from being smooth… Freelancing means managing finances, being on the lookout for jobs, constantly multitasking and having precise time management. And obviously, my standard of living has taken a toll along the way. But at no point do I regret this career change as I’ve never felt so alive, useful and thriving from what I do. And even though nothing is safe and secure anymore, I feel for the first time of my life that things are going to be ok in the future, even if I have no way to predict it.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a filmmaker and I specialize in directing. This role encompasses all aspects of movie-making from the script to the final cut and I am very grateful that I get to follow projects from A to Z. In the span of a year, I’ve directed four short films that have all received a warm and promising welcome in the festival circuit. I have also directed one music video for a Thai artist and I am looking into furthering my experience in that field.

At this stage, what I feel the most strongly about in my job is shot composition. I’ve always felt very drawn to the visual aspect of films and I am now having a blast designing the shots that will serve best the story and bring it to life. I’m very precise and meticulous with my shotlist and I absolutely love the whole working process with the DP ahead of the shoot.

What I am the most proud of though is the atmosphere on my sets. My favorite part of the job are the people I work with as I love the collective aspect of movie-making. I, therefore, make it a priority to create a positive and warm atmosphere on set, where everybody feels valued and can express their creativity.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I come from a risk-averse family: my father was a natural disaster specialist and my mom worked in insurance. If there’s one thing we tried to avoid in our house, it was taking risks! This led me to go down a rather traditional path, academically speaking. Despite always being passionate about cinema and wanting to pursue a career in that industry, I went to business school after high school and spent the first seven years of my professional life working in the corporate world, mostly within marketing and strategy departments.

But as time went by, I could tell it wasn’t fulfilling enough as I was slowly but surely heading toward more creative positions, incorporating as much storytelling and video-making in my everyday life as possible. It was in 2018 that I decided to take action and figure out a way to move to L.A. to pursue movie-making. I left my Parisian life and moved here a little over a year ago now to become a movie director.

This was by far the biggest risk I took in my life but without a doubt the best decision I’ve made. I can’t say I’ve changed altogether, that would be a big lie. I still prefer when things are safe and going according to plan. But at this stage, I believe I have a different outlook when an opportunity arises and scares me: I know it’s usually a good sign, for challenge and growth and I don’t automatically run away from it. Risk is scary because it might lead to failure. But failing is learning and that’s why I feel like we should all be embrace risk a little more.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marierouhban.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marie_rouhban/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marierouhban/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarieRouhban

Image Credits
Pierre Escrivant, Peeradon Ariyanukooltorn & Lars Kenner