Special to IFN

Statesville High grad and indie filmmaker Glenn Roberson’s new feature-length film, “When First We Practice to Deceive,” is now available on a half-dozen streaming services, including Tubi, the top free ad-supported entertainment streamer.

The film features surprising twists and turns, as a phone call from prison, a bag of cash and drugs, and a missing person spark a series of events that upend the lives of a jazz club singer and a good Samaritan. The movie is the first full-length production for Roberson, who has also made three short films that have won a number of awards in film festivals.

Roberson sought a timeless and classic feel for the story, which he wrote. He drew from a variety of influences, including a prior career in photography, his writing of fiction novels and informal and formal studies of films and filmmaking, and his love of music of varied genres.

“The original concept for the movie changed several times, as I incorporated aspects of storytelling that interest me, and that I hope also are compelling for the audience,” he said. “The characters and story actually originated with one of my shorts, ‘Murder à Trois.’ The new film brings full-circle the story introduced in that short film.”

Roberson grew up in Statesville and graduated from Statesville High School in 1981. Until recently, he was a photographer and for several years had a studio in the Oak Street Mill in Cornelius. When he moved to filmmaking, he used his familiarity with the Iredell/Lake Norman area and the relationships he developed over the years to help find locations and other supporting services.

The team filmed the self-funded movie  last summer in Cornelius, Charlotte, Troutman and Mount Pleasant.

“I did my best to create a project that showcased local and regional actors and featured amazing local musicians and settings,” Roberson said. “I was fortunate enough to cast new and more experienced talent who really brought the story I wrote to life. I also worked with the film studies program at UNC Charlotte and brought on some recent graduates as crew, in additional to our professional crew, and I believe they gained some useful experience.”

In addition to the actors and crew, professional musicians were essential to the story.

“It was really important to incorporate live music,” Roberson said. “I think including live music in a prominent way, instead of just as background, is rare for a micro-budget indie production. Our jazz band and our singers were so talented, and they really added to the vibe and the plot twists of the film.”

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