Robert Castillo:
How can a movie be made with only a camera, paper and pencil at one's disposal? Filmmaker Robert Castillo manages to create the film S.P.I.C., THE STORY ABOUT MY LIFE, using only these tools. In this interview, Castillo explains how he “took paper and pencil and just told a story;” a story that then inspired people around the world.

Award winning Director, Animator, Illustrator and Storyboard Artist Robert Castillo discovered his passion for art and illustration at the tender age of five. Nicknamed “Sketch” Castillo would draw his way through his difficult transition of returning to the United States from the Dominican Republic; mastering English, and acclimating to the mostly white environment of Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Robert honed his skills in illustration and traditional animation, at the Art Institute of Boston where he graduated with honors and was recognized with the Illustrator of the Year Award, in 2001. He has given back by teaching in their pre-college animation program over the past two years.

As a storyboard artist, Robert has created boards for feature films including Latifah's THE COOKOUT, the Christopher Reeves directed animation YANKEE IRVING, award winning cable television program THE SOPRANOS, music videos for Alicia Keys, Ja Rule, Kid Rock, and Trick Daddy, commercials for Phat Farm, Adidas, And 1, as well as promo work for VH1 and Court TV. Robert's talent has been recognized with various awards, and honors including The Scholastic Achievement Award in 1979. He's been privileged to create portraits of civil rights luminaries including a portrait of Malcolm X, for his daughter Attalah Shabazz and a portrait of Nelson Mandela, which hangs in Amherst College. Robert is currently adapting S.P.I.C. Into a long form feature, as well as developing several animation projects for television.