Javier Badillo is a Leo-nominated Venezuelan-Canadian film director, writer and producer. With early careers as a punk rock musician and 2D animator, he found a natural fit as an independent filmmaker. Javier's movies have garnered awards internationally for his unique ability to explore themes of identity, and our common humanity, in entertaining underdog stories.
In 2022, Badillo completed his feature film Roads of Ithriyah, a war drama that follows a concussed Syrian militant with amnesia from the desert battlefield to the streets of Vancouver. The film was made through crowdfunding and collaboration with Indigenous communities. Roads of Ithriyah won a Leo Award for Best Sound and was nominated for Best Director, Best Screenwriting, Best Lead Actor and Best Picture.
Javier's short drama Baba (2021) which he co-wrote and produced, won Best Script and Best Picture at the Vancouver Short Film Festival and the Toronto Reelworld Film Festival. It was also nominated for four Leo Awards in 2022, including Best Screenplay and Best Short Film. It was an official selection at the 44th Mill Valley Film Festival, Chicago International Children's Film Festival, 36th Edmonton International Film Festival, Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, and Cinéfest Sudbury, among others.
Previously, his short film Coco Blue (2018), an unflinching story of a sex worker with musical ambitions, won Best Female Lead and Best Music at the Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Performance at the 2019 Leo Awards. Javier received nominations for Best Director and Best Canadian Short Film at the 2019 Hollywood North Film Awards.
That same year, Javier won the Audience Choice award at the Harrogate Film Festival (UK) for his short film Fatal Rhapsody, a subversive, gender-bending hit man comedy, starring Lochlyn Munro (Riverdale, Peacemaker) and Thomas Nicholson (Yellowjackets, Legends of Tomorrow).
Outside of filmmaking, Javier has worked as Programming Director for the Vancouver Short Film Festival (2010-2019), Director of Raindance Vancouver (2011-2013), and as president of the Venezuelan-Canadian Society of BC (VCSBC), a non-profit that supports humanitarian efforts.
In 2019, Javier received the RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award for his contributions to Canadian society.
Unique traits: Lived experience in three continents, and skilled in seven languages. Known as an actors' director with strong artistic vision, who focuses on multicultural modern day themes. Knowledgeable in the technical aspects of digital filmmaking, with a background in 2D/3D Animation, fine arts and storyboarding.
Roads of Ithriyah
(
Film
by Spitshine Flicks (Drama and War)
Director, Writer, Producer Ahmad, a Syrian militant, wakes up in the desert, concussed from a rocket explosion, and realizes he has no recollection of which side of the war he's fighting for. As he walks back to an outpost called Ithriyah, memories of his mother and sister before the war are triggered by a mysterious vial of perfume he finds in his pocket. As his mind and body begin to break, he is rescued by a brutish soldier hell-bent on escorting him back to the war - but Ahmad's memories have begun to remind him that hate and revenge only lead to death and destruction.
Coco Blue
(
Film
by Spitshine Flicks, Westwood Productions (Drama)
Director, Producer A black sex worker with musical ambitions finds an old mentor who inspires her to stand up to her pimp.
911: Officer Down
(
Film
(Action and Thriller)
Producer, Actor A rogue cop kidnaps a reality TV media unit and takes them on a violent night ride.
Meridiem
(
Film (short)
(Action, Crime and Thriller)
Director, Producer
Thin Walls
(
TV Serie
(Comedy)
Writer, Associate Producer
La Quinceañera
(
TV Series
by Luchagore Productions (Action, Crime and Family)
Art department, Storyboards
Entanglement
(
Film
Art department
Legally Speaking
(
Film
(Comedy and Drama)
Director, Producer
Fatal Rhapsody
(
Film
(Comedy and Crime)
Director, Producer
Two of Cups
(
Film
(Fantasy)
Director, Producer
Counter Act
(
Film
Art department
Commitment
(
Film
Production designer
Meet Cute
(
Film
Production designer
Death Row Democracy
(
TV Series
Producer
Martin's Pink Pickle
(
Film
Art department
Naked Bike Ride
(
Film
Art department
The Cover-Up
(
Film
Producer
Mountain Men
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
Rink Rats
(
TV Movie
Director
Mattress
(
Film
Production manager
Kimchi Fried Dumplings
(
Film
Art department
Afterparty
(
Film
Producer
Swiss Guides in the Canadian Rockies: Beyond Adventure
(
Film
Producer
The True Heroines
(
TV Series
Producer
One Foot in Hell
(
TV Movie
Producer
Re-Psycho
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
Random Acts of Romance
(
Film
Art department
Afternoon at Gudrun
(
Film
(Comedy and Drama)
Director, Producer
What If He Was Already Like That...?
(
Film
Art department
Everything and Everyone
(
Film
Art department
Faith & Conviction
(
Film
(Comedy and Crime)
Director, Producer
Let Your Fingers Do the Talking
(
Film
Producer
Lost & Found
(
Film
Producer
Float
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
Leash
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
Repairs
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
Marley & Me: The Puppy Years
(
Video
Camera and Electrical Department
Vita Bella: The Dogumentary
(
TV Series
Camera and Electrical Department
Endgame
(
TV Series
Camera and Electrical Department
Square Dance Story
(
Film
Actor
Breaking Ground
(
Film
Art director
Neutral Territory
(
Film
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Amazon Falls
(
Film
Key Grip, Storyboards
Rain Down
(
Film
Art department
Stupid Chainsaw Tricks
(
Film
Art department
In the Same Boat
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
The Unvarnished Boy
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
I'm in the Mood for Love
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
Plant Girl
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
Lost Condom
(
Film
Editorial department
1001 Nights
(
TV Series
Editorial department
Mayan Calendar: The True Story of the Apocalypse
(
Film
Production designer
Henry's Glasses
(
Film
Production designer
Sikat
(
Film
Art director
Collide
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
Excited
(
Film
Camera and Electrical Department
Creep
(
Film
Cinematographer
Henchin'
(
Film
(Comedy and Sci-Fi)
Director, Producer
Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns
(
TV Series
Art department
Scars
(
Video
(Crime and Thriller)
Director, Producer
Resurrection
(
Film
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Masters of Science Fiction
(
TV Series
Camera and Electrical Department
Atomic Betty
(
TV Series
Animation department
Ed, Edd n Eddy
(
TV Series
Animation department
The Troop
TV Series
Art department