A director from Spain praised for her work in short films and digital media has shot a full-length documentary about the living icons of Route 66 and hopes to see the movie in theaters by 2019.
Ana Ramon Rubio directed “Almost Ghosts,” which is designed to “remember those who were forgotten when the U.S. Government finished the construction of the freeways that bypassed what was, until then, the Main Street of America,” according to a news release.
Among those featured in the film are Harley Russell of the Sandhills Curiosity Shoppe in Erick, Oklahoma. Lowell Davis, an artist who re-created his hometown near Carthage, Missouri; and Angel Delgadillo, the one-time barber in Seligman, Arizona, who persuaded the state to recognize Route 66 as a historic highway.
Rubio explained her motivation behind the film:
“I fell in love at first sight with 66 as everybody else does, with books and movies, but when I finally got the chance to drive it from Illinois to Missouri, what I loved most was the people we met there. Route 66 is mostly remembered from the iconic perspective, from what is it to take one of the most dreamed road trips ever, but there are so many stories behind it… There is so much to discover about all those who almost died among the most iconic highway ever that when I came back to Spain I just got obsessed with this project and wanted to shoot it more than anything else.”
Producer Cristina Vivo also weighed in about the film:
“Our protagonists have changed the history of America. If it wasn’t for them, today people would not dream about crossing the U.S. through Route 66. It’s unexplainable how America forgot the road that saw Americans migrate westward in search of a better life during so many years and if it wasn’t for the people who fought and stayed, there would be nothing left of it today. All the story would have remained only in books and movies, but thanks to heroes — and antiheroes — like Angel, Lowell or Harley, much of the route can still be enjoyed. They made history and will always
be remembered.”
“Almost Ghosts” was filmed in March along all 2,400 miles of Route 66. The film now is in post-production.
UPDATE 9/25/2018: The director reports the film will debut during the Seminci Film Festival in Spain on Oct. 20-27.
(Images of production stills of Angel Delgadillo, Harley Russell and Lowell Davis from the “Almost Ghosts” movie, courtesy of the producer)