Meet Gaspar González | Filmmaker, Founder of Hammer and Nail Productions

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gaspar González and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gaspar, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
When people talk about ‘risk,’ what they usually mean by that is just leaving their comfort zone, doing something they haven’t done before. By that definition, risk-taking is essential to evolving — as a person, as a filmmaker, as a company. For Hammer and Nail, our documentary production company, that might mean taking on a project that is different from what we’ve done before. If you’re not seeking out those kinds of opportunities and challenges, you’re not going to grow creatively, and you’re not going to grow your business.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a documentary filmmaker. My first film was the national PBS release Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami. That was almost 15 years ago. Under the umbrella of Hammer and Nail Productions, we’ve made several feature-length docs, including most recently The All-American Cuban Comet for ESPN in 2020, as well as some shorter-length docs that people might know, like Havana House, which won the Audience Award at the Miami Film Festival in 2017. Our films tend to have a strong historical or cultural component. A Date, with History, a film we currently have out on the festival circuit, is about the arrest of a Black woman and a white man at a Miami motel in 1955. They were arrested for vagrancy, but their real crime was crossing the color line in segregated Miami. The film uses the incident as a way to explore this aspect of the city’s past, and the impact of discriminatory policing on the lives of people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I think a lot of the coolest places are the ones that have survived the constant makeover that is Miami. You can still find some great mom-and-pop shops and restaurants that have been around forever in Little Havana, Little Haiti, Hialeah, and even some parts of Miami Beach. Places like Joe’s Stone Crab and Puerto Sagua, the Cuban restaurant on Collins Avenue, are institutions. And, of course, hotels like the Fontainebleau and the Eden Roc. All contain what I think of as the ‘DNA’ of Miami. You can go to other cities, but you’re not going to find places quite like that. They’re uniquely Miami. Friends who visit enjoy experiencing that.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents, who taught me the value of hard work, perseverance, and compassion. And my wife, who has her own career, but still manages to be there for our family when obligations might pull me away. Never underestimate your support network.

Website: hammerandnailprod.com