Matías was four years old when his mother, Isa, stole him away from his abusive, alcoholic father. Now, as a teenager, he is a seasoned car thief, living with her in a Virginia Beach public housing complex. But, after Isa's sudden and unexpected death, Matías is sent back to Baltimore to live with the father they ran away from over a decade earlier. Returning to the locations of a forgotten childhood, Matias is forced to confront the reemergence of repressed trauma, while coming to terms with his own inability to protect her.

Shot with a small production team entirely in Baltimore City, Stealing Cars is a story of adolescence and finding community, simultaneously a cautionary tale about an increasingly unattainable American dream and a love letter to Baltimore.

"With this official world premiere at the Maryland Film Festival, Stealing Cars brings us a raw and beautifully portrayed Baltimore story with relatable, real, and complex characters who are handled with care and who are guaranteed to steal your heart." - MdFF programming team

Our Community Partners for STEALING CARS are Tola's Room and the Baltimore Women's Media Alliance.