Academy-Award-Winning Director Rommel Villa
Rommel Villa
In this profile series, Revry is highlighting authentic contributors to the LGBTQ media and entertainment community. We ask questions to find out who they are and where they are going in the future. The questions remain the same but the answers tell their unique story. It’s time to explore and celebrate true representation beyond the limits of Hollywood.
Rommel Villa is an Academy-Award-winning director born and raised in Bolivia. His passion for storytelling started when he was a kid, creating fictional stories about his family fighting poverty and corruption in a magical world full of dinosaurs and llamas. Rommel grew up writing/directing award-winning plays based on social issues he learned at PASCAR, a social organization that educates young adults in HIV/AIDS misconceptions and LGBTQ+ advocacy. At 18, he served in the military for a year in Bolivia, which exposed Rommel to an extremely sexist and discriminatory environment.
Winner of the 2018 Directing stipend from Lionsgate-Televisa's Latinx filmmaker program, Rommel has a Bachelor’s Degree in Systems Engineering and an MFA in Film/TV Production at USC with an emphasis in Writing/Directing. In the last few years, Rommel received a couple of USC filmmaker grants which funded his award-winning LGBTQ+ thesis film TEDDY MATE, and SWEET POTATOES, a historical film funded by the Sloan Foundation which won the 2020 Student Academy Awards. Rommel is currently developing a series based on SWEET POTATOES called REVOLUTIONARY LIVES, and is a grantee at the 2021 Tomorrow Filmmaker's Today program.
What are you best known for?
I'm a filmmaker focused on writing and directing. I am passionate about stories that are focused on the misconceptions behind our Latinx communities as well as Queer stories. I am unafraid of exploring controversial subjects, which I like portraying on the screen in unconventional ways. I am drawn to magical realism and alternate realities. I use both of them as ways to move the story forward, making sure the characters and their emotional journey come first. In addition, a new passion of mine has been exploring emotional stories based on true events. My film SWEET POTATOES is based on the real-life events behind the life of Luis Miramontes, the Mexican scientist who synthesized the birth control pill in 1951. I think these stories matter because they defy the existing stereotypes against our Latinx community, proving that there are much more meaningful stories to tell than what we're accustomed to watching.
What is the first thing you directed?
TEDDY MATE was what I consider my first Directorial experience. I had directed a handful of shorts before that but I hadn't had a chance to focus solely on directing since I used to also be the producer/editor, and so forth. With TEDDY MATE, I experienced the beauty of collaborating with so many amazing filmmakers and actors, which was at that moment my best learning experience as a director. Working with kids, magical realism, visual effects, animation, and LGBTQ+ themes was a challenge, to say the least, but I was blessed with a passionate and hard-working team, and I am beyond proud of the final product. This project inspired me to become a better storyteller and person.
What are you working on that no one knows about yet?
I'm currently packaging a TV series based on Latinx historical figures that changed the world that we know with their outstanding work. I'm also writing a couple of feature scripts to be shot in Latinoamerica and the US. One of them, SWEET POTATOES, is based on the short film I finished last year. In addition, I'm looking to option a couple of books to adapt them to the big/small screen. That really excites me since by doing so, I get to support Latinx artists who have a passion for writing stories that take place in our communities. Finally, I'm shooting a couple of short films soon, one of them in Bolivia. This short will speak about the traumas many closeted queer teenagers go through in the Bolivian countryside. I'm very excited about being back on set, telling stories that matter.