Rincón is known as the “town of beautiful sunsets” and is located in the northwest corner of Puerto Rico, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea. Located right on the beach in this cozy little surfing town is Villa Cofresi Hotel and Restaurant – a place that will always be dear to me. Why? Well, after completing my very first feature documentary film, The Motivator: The Business of Selling Hope (a film I had written, directed, shot & edited), I submitted it to the 2008 Rincón International Film Festival. The festival, which was selected as one of the “Top 25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” in 2013 by MovieMaker Magazine, was in its very first year then and I can still remember how excited I was when I received the email stating that my film had been selected – I had arrived as a filmmaker.
I flew down to Rincón to attend the festival and made my hotel reservation right where many of the films were being screened, a place called Villa Cofresi. Long story short, after a successful screening, I went on to win the ‘Director’s Choice’ award at the festival – it changed everything about what I felt I could accomplish as a filmmaker and set the stage for the two award winning documentary films I would go on to write, direct, shoot and edit (OK, I’m bragging just a bit). It was a special few days.
During my stay at Villa Cofresi, I was so enamored by the great hospitality, delicious food, and the beautiful daily sunsets, that on my last day there, I approached the GM of the hotel, Sandra Caro, and asked if she would mind if I interviewed her for a short video of the hotel (I had brought along my Panasonic DVX). She, of course, agreed and I put together this short video I shot over the course of a day (watch it HERE). Just my way of saying “thank you” to a place that had become very special to me.
In the years since, I’ve returned to Villa Cofresi with my family several times. Moreover, Sandra has taken good care of my wife’s father (who lives in nearby Añasco) and her sisters when they fly down there to visit him. The restaurant at Villa Cofresi has become my father-in-law’s favorite place to eat. This past January, we all flew down there to celebrate his 80th birthday at the hotel’s restaurant. We (my family) stood at Villa Cofresi and this time I brought along my two Panasonic GH2 DSLRs, my little Canon XF100 and my new GoPro HERO3+ – it was time for an HD upgrade to the video I had produced back in 2008.
So here it is, shot over the course of about two fun-filled days, a REDUX of my first production for this lovely little hotel. Oh, and if you’re planning a visit to this beautiful town, make sure you spend a few days at Villa Cofresi – tell them Dan Perez sent you 🙂
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/86243534[/vimeo]
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