On February 18, 2014 I woke up and had no idea how my life would change that day. That was the day that I got an email from Phil. It was a beautiful letter, describing what he called ‘my deal’, and what I now know to be his Camino. He invited me to come and walk his Camino, and I realized that since my husband and I had plans to fly in and out of Seattle in just a few weeks time, I could accept that beautiful invitation. On March 2, 2014, I found myself on a ferry heading over to a place called Vashon Island. There I met Phil, who told me to look for ‘the guy in the red hat’, and he took me to his home. Drinking a cup of tea before heading out on his Camino I felt just as excited as when I would drink a cup of tea on the Camino de Santiago before heading out for a full day of walking! Exactly the same, no difference at all! I wished that my husband could be with us because I wanted to film the experience. I distinctly remember thinking, “Somebody has to make a movie about this guy.” Well, here we are, that somebody was me, and that movie is Phil’s Camino, a 28 minute documentary short!
We have screened the film at 7 festivals so far, winning awards at 4 of them. I truly feel like getting into the festival is a huge award, and I wouldn’t even bring up awards except that I am still fundraising, and I think it makes a difference to folks to know that the film is getting acknowledged by juries and audiences alike. Here is our schedule for June, minus one festival that hasn’t publicly announced yet:
June 2, 1 screening at the South Bay Film Festival (LA area)
June 4 & 6, 2 screenings at the San Francisco DocFest (Roxie Theater in San Francisco)
June 11 &12, 2 screenings at the deadCenter Film Festival in Oklahoma City
June 23, 1 screening at the Nantucket Film Festival
June 25, 1 screening at the AFI film festival in Washington, DC
If you have friends at any of those cities, please encourage them to go to the film festival website and purchase tickets to whatever the shorts program Phil’s Camino is part of.
If your friends are in San Francisco, I am working on getting the man himself — Phil, Red Hot, Felipe — to one or both of the screenings so he can be there for the Q&A that will follow the film. I know I don’t have to tell all of you Caminoheads how much audiences LOVE Felipe! It is a thrill to do a Q&A with him! Joy beyond joy! One of the many many many gifts that this film brings to everyone who sees it. I will be doing a fundraiser on Wednesday evening i Redlands, CA, and as I mentioned, I continue to fundraise, with the website accepting donations ( www.philscamino.com ) My book sales continue to feed into Phil’s Camino, and you can find my book, Everyday Camino with Annie at www.everydaycaminowithannie.com People also plan fundraisers, which is great: the fundraiser on Wednesday night was suggested by none other than Carol, who was Phil and Rebecca’s “Handler” when we went to SXSW. Oh yes, Phil definitely needs a handler, ha ha! Just ask Kelly and Rick, who held that job when they walked the Camino with him, ha ha! Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you want to plan a fundraiser. You can always private message me on Facebook, (which reminds me, have you ‘liked’ the Facebook page for Phil’s Camino yet? Also friend me, since I post there about Phil’s Camino all the time) or email me at [email protected]
In any case, I know so many of you Caminoheads have supported Phil’s Camino financially as well as prayerfully, and I am so very thankful for you. I include you in my prayers, and say prayers of thanks with every film festival submission fee, and with every bill that I pay. Phil’s Camino wouldn’t be where it is today without you. Thank you.
So let us walk forward today knowing and feeling the presence of our Camino Family that Phil has created here. How lucky we are to walk together!
Buen Camino,
Annie
Annie O Neil
Producer/Director: Phil’s Camino www.philscamino.com
Co-producer and Pilgrim: Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago www.caminodocumentary.org
Author: Everyday Camino with Annie www.everydaycaminowithannie.com
310-403-4228