Chasing Westboro
Chasing Westboro is a personal documentary chronicling my journey of reckoning with the Westboro Baptist Church; the most infamous hate church in the country, known for picketing jews, gays, and soldiers and anyone who is not like them.
Chasing Westboro Trailer
Chasing Westboro Funding Short
A few scenes from the Washington DC leg of filming
that was used to fundraise for the production of the rest of the documentary.
Chasing Westboro was invited to be pitched at the Double Exposure Film Festival in Washington DC
We Don't Want to Stand Still
We Don't Want to Stand Still is a film made by Villani in collaboration with Rush University Medical Center. The documentary shines a light onto the reality of how poorly people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are treated in the healthcare system. The film gives voice to advocates to share their stories, as well as experts opinions on how the healthcare system can improve the treatment of disability patients.
Scum
Scum navigates risky ethical territory by turning the lens on himself; filmmaker Villani’s attempt at self-discovery using tinder as a hunting ground less as dating mechanism and more as a vehicle for inquiry, a personal exploration of his asexuality reconciling a past love.
Bad Guys
Scum was presented on an Ethics in Documentary panel by film maker and educator, Ruth Leitman at the University of Film and Video Association Conference in 2017. The presentation focused on the ethical issues she has faced as filmmaker and as an educator.
Bad Guys follows the perspectives of individuals that were handed a life in which it is nearly impossible to survive without committing crimes. It explores the stigmas placed on people that do feel forced to rely on crime as a source of income, protection, etc. The film introduces the viewer to a few main characters that are very likable, thus making it easier to empathize where a person is at in life.