Fulfilling his father’s final wishes, while in the mountains on the 4th of July, Orlando Young gets robbed of his keys, wallet, and clothes. Without another option, he hitchhikes home in his shorts to find that everything he owns has been stolen as well.
5th of July – July 12th
Times TBA
Laemmle Music Hall
9036 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
By Elia Esparza
A raw, comic, retelling of the Book of Job, filled with all kinds of California misfits you’d never want to run into on the open road.
How many times have we planned every detail of a trip or journey, even one taken when it’s not really your thing but life says, you gotta go? I mean, it’s for your loved one… and you go.
Film Director Camilo Vila and Writer Monty Fisher have taken a loving and simple task of spreading a loved one’s ashes in accordance with the deceased instructions and it turns into an outrageous comedy of errors.
Kind of reminds you of John Candy and Steve Martin‘s Planes, Trains & Automobiles only the lead actor is an Afro American professor of French Literature, Orlando Young, portrayed by Jaleel White, who is tasked on a mission to fulfill his father’s final wishes. And, all the uproarious characters he meets along the way of trying to get back home, well it is a deliciously diverse cast– Dyana Ortelli, Ruth Livier, Roel Navarro, and in cameo roles… Jose Maria Aguila, Arthur J. Gonzalez, Jaime Vasquez, and Rafael Gritzewsky all make the most of their characters making it impossible to forget them!
Also, starring in 5th of July: Gary Anthony Williams, Jaleel White, Sean Kanan, Brent Briscoe, Sy Richardson, Susan Beaubian, Katie Amess, Aleszea Blanche Germann, Azur-De, and David Banks.
5th of July will have a special screening on July 5th through the 12th at the Laemmle Music Hall. Stay tuned for the times, Latin Heat will keep you updated. Definitely, this is a movie screening not to miss.
We caught up with the busy director and had a candid conversation about his film.
LatinHeat: Camilo, where did you get the story idea from or what inspired you to make 5th of July?
Camilo Vila: The idea was one hundred percent my partner’s, very loosely based on something that happened to him. However, he wanted to do a thriller and I felt it should be a comedy. I finally convinced him to let me do a draft,
and as they say, the rest is history.
LH: Is this your first feature film? I know you have impressive TV credits… difference of challenges… film vs. TV?
CV: No I’ve done at least six other features.
LH: The characters are a mixed bag of ethnicities and cultures and it is a fabulously diversely cast movie — did you create the characters for the actors you had in mind or did you create the actors and held auditions to cast?
CV: With the exception of the Irma, the Dyana Ortelli character, they are of my imagination. When I was writing Irma, I kept hearing Dyana’s voice.
It’s not every day a Latina actor in Hollywood gets the opportunity to work on a film with a wonderfully diverse cast and a renown Latino director — Camilo Vila! Working on 5th of July gave me that opportunity and the added bonus of working opposite Jaleel [White], whom I knew and loved as Urkel on Family Matters. Playing Jaleel character’s friend and neighbor, Irma, an off-beat, quirky Latina, was fun and exciting, and a learning experience! Even more exciting is the fact that 5th of July was recently voted Best Comedy Film at the Black International Film Festival!” Dyana Ortelli
LH: Brent Briscoe sadly passed away before seeing the finished film, what do you think he would have thought of 5th of July? He is great as Dakota.
CV: Brent did tell his agent he thought this and some other movie he did were the best characters he’s ever played. And, it’s so sad.
LH: What challenges were the hardest to overcome in making your indie film?
CV: Money.
LH: Tell us about funding and how you funded and a clue as to your budget.
CV: One hundred percent, my partner raised the money from private entities. If you include some of the deferments, including mine, the budget is close to $900,000.00.
LH: What do you hope viewers will take from this funny movie?
CV: In previous screenings, the audience reacted exactly the way I was hoping. They laughed from the very first scene until the last one. And, afterward, they will say how fun it was!
LH: Also, what advice would you give to up-and-coming filmmakers who desire to make their first movie? Any tips to avoid some of the pains you went through?
CV: Don’t! Go to medical school. [He laughs out loud] There’s no way to avoid the pain.
Thank you, Camilo!
Camilo Vila was born in Havana, Cuba and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. He was raised in New York City, Puerto Rico and Miami, where he developed a love of people watching and storytelling. He is known for 186 Dollars to Freedom (2012), Aurelio: A Rebel with a Cause (2015), and The Worms (1978).
5th of July
Four Fish Films
Director: Camilo Vila
Writers: Monty Fisher, Nick Machado (contributing writer), Camilo Vila
Producers: Monty Fisher, Mercedes Neves-Hatchwell, Pamela M. Staton, Camilo Vila
Composer: Roger Bellon
Cinematographer: Germano Saracco
Stars: Gary Anthony Williams, Jaleel White, Sean Kanan, Brent Briscoe, Dyana Ortelli, Ruth Livier, Sy Richardson, Susan Beaubian, Katie Amess, Roel Navarro, Aleszea Blanche Germann, Azur-De, David Banks