We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rommel Villa. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rommel below.

Rommel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Piedra Dura (Hard Stone) is one of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever worked on. It’s a short film that represents a harsh reality that happens to many queer young people in Bolivia and in many places around the world. The story is very important to me because it’s based on traumatic events that happened to me and that happened to other people that I know. So the film was not only made as a means to entertain and inform audiences about the subject matter, but it was also a way for me to process and let go of a trauma that I had been compartmentalizing for a long time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Rommel Villa, a Bolivian filmmaker living in Los Angeles. I have a background in directing/producing theater in Bolivia. Most of the topics I tackle with my work are focused on social issues and controversial subject matters with a touch of magical realism and music. My fascination for performing arts led me to pursue a master’s degree in film at USC with a focus on directing and editing. The stories that I’ve learned to love deal with existentialism, physical and spiritual struggles, and the evil side of the society we live in, all of which are focused on Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities.

One of the projects I’ve directed is Sweet Potatoes, a historical film about the Mexican scientist who developed the hormone that originated the birth control pill. The project won a Student Academy Award. Another project I directed is called Piedra Dura, which explores the emotional and physical abuse a queer young man faces after being caught watching gay porn at a church. The project was filmed in my hometown in Bolivia and has been going to many festivals around the world. On the editing side, one of the most fulfilling projects I worked on is called Lives, Not Grades, directed by Daniel Druhora, which exposes USC students to the harsh living conditions of war refugees in Lesvos, Greece. The project won an Emmy award for Best Independent Programming in 2022.

As a filmmaker, it is important for me to fully commit to any project I sign up to do. I consider myself a loyal collaborator, which helps establish strong professional and emotional connections with the people I work with, which I believe help bring stories to the next level.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I first arrived in LA, my taxi driver asked me where I was from, I said I was from Bolivia. He laughed and asked me if I had cocaine in my luggage. That was my welcome to America. I like sharing that experience because I think it exemplifies my experience living here. Many people (friends included) have made comments about my looks, height, weight, sexual preference, and talent, which even though can be at times demoralizing, they have encouraged me to prove to myself and therefore others that there’s more in us than the stereotypes that society has about us.

I love making films and telling stories despite the sometimes lack of funding, opportunities, and support from the industry. Filmmaking is a very competitive world, but I don’t let that intimidate me. I still try. to find the means to make films and to tell stories that represent my people and my background with the hopes that someday soon I’ll be able to do that full-time.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think it is to inspire others and to create an array of emotions for the audience. There’s nothing more rewarding than hearing people’s reactions in the theater. After all, films are made for the audience.

Contact Info:

• Website: rommelvillafilms.com
• Instagram: @rommelvb
• Facebook: @rommelvb
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rommel-villa-a61277107/

Image Credits
Gabrielle Johnson, Luis Palacios