Meet Willmer Williams | Event & Film Producer

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

Hi Willmer, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
Before discussing what makes me happy, I will first define what happiness means to me. Happiness is an emotion that manifests in my body as a sensation of fullness starting from the center of my chest and expanding throughout. I discovered this a few years ago at a Hindu temple in Malaysia. After a person placed a “bindi” (red circle) in the middle of my eyebrows, I began to feel this sensation of fullness emanating from my chest and spreading through my entire body. This pleasant feeling eventually brought tears of happiness. It was a unique experience that helped me understand what happiness means to me. Just months earlier, I had been very sad due to personal circumstances, and this allowed me to compare happiness to sadness. Sadness, I realized, is the opposite—a feeling of emptiness in the chest that contracts you, lowers your mood and droops your shoulders.

Since that moment, I have been trying to recapture that same sensation, but I have not been successful. The moments that come closest to that feeling are when I reunite and share with family and friends (especially after a long time apart and when I travel to see them), when I wake up feeling purposeful (sharing my knowledge and experience in a project or my own venture) when I achieve a personal goal when I find tranquility away from the hyper-connectivity of technology, and simply when I immerse myself in and enjoy a good movie.

However, every day, I yearn to experience that profound sense of fullness I felt in that Hindu temple once again.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Since I was a child I have always been interested in show business and television. I grew up in the studios of RCTV (Venezuelan TV channel) where my mother worked for 35 years.

When I grew up one of my first work experiences was in the camera department of a tourism TV channel. This job made me travel through the best places in Central America and the Caribbean, and without knowing it, at that moment I started to develop one of my main passions: Traveling.

After several years, I decided to move to Argentina and again one of my first jobs was filming a world travel reality show I had the opportunity to visit the 5 continents, discover breathtaking landscapes such as Alaska, New Zealand, and Italy, and learn about the culture of countries as varied as Hong Kong, Morocco and Guatemala, among others.

I feel very fortunate and proud to be able to combine my career as an event and film producer with my passion for traveling.

One of the main challenges in my career has been migration. Starting ventures in new cities, with different dynamics and a different culture, is not easy, but with the right attitude and love for what you do, you can have the courage to carry it forward.

A lesson I have learned is that if you set your mind to it, and work for it, anything is possible.
When in 2013 I decided to organize the first fashion film festival in Latin America, it sounded like a very ambitious and a bit crazy idea, especially because I didn’t know anything about fashion at that time. But I was determined to do it because of my passion for image, aesthetics and my desire to create a meeting and networking space for people in fashion, film and arts.

In 2015, after overcoming many challenges, such as not having experience in organizing events, being a Venezuelan directing and producing the first fashion film festival in Argentina, not being a recognized person in the fashion industry, and many more, finally, together with my 3 partners at that time, We managed to make the first edition of the Buenos Aires International Fashion Film Festival (BAIFFF), it was an event that exceeded our expectations, it was a great success, with a lot of impact in the national and international media, alliance with others outstanding international festivals like Madrid, Berlin, Mexico, and many other satisfactions.
But the most important thing was to learn and confirm that if you put your mind to it, and work for it, anything is possible.

Two years ago I decided to move to the US to develop new business opportunities. Now in this new stage, I am facing the same challenges again with new projects in a new city. Fortunately one of them has already come to light, it is called Hudd Sports, a multi-platform soccer content from Miami, created together with my colleague Alejandro Tapia, and of which I am very proud to be the General Producer.

This multi-platform is the first of its kind for the Hispanic audience and we have already had the honor of receiving great soccer personalities who have shared their stories with us and the audience. Among the guests we have had in our shows is the former Colombian soccer player “El Pibe” Valderrama remembered for his iconic afro blond hair, we also received two great figures of Argentine soccer, Maxi Rodriguez and the world champion Mario Kempes, on the other hand, we have had great legends of soccer narration, such as the narrator Andres Cantor and Luis Omar Tapia, among others.

I am currently working on the development of the next Fashion Films festival from Miami, where we will mix Fashion, Film, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts.

I feel very fortunate for all that my professional career has offered me, knowing many different places and cultures, working with very well-known artists and personalities whom I admire, and especially being a generator of cultural spaces and content in the cities I have lived in.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First of all the beach! In my opinion, when you arrive in Miami, the first thing you should do is go to the beach. My favorite beaches are North Beach, Surfside and Haulover beach.

Another activity that I recommend is on Sunday to take a bicycle tour of the city, riding along the beach from Bal Harbor to South Point Park, strolling through Miami Beach and enjoy the varied gastronomic offerings of that area.

I also recommend visiting the city’s museums such as the Perez Art Museum, Frost Museum, and the small art galleries in the Wynwood and Little Haiti area.

I would also go to the Everglades and experience sailing in an airboat while watching alligators in their habitat. You can’t miss a kayak tour in Oleta River State Park either, mixing a little exercise and enjoyment of the beauty of nature.

Walking in South Beach along Lincoln Rd, Washington Ave, and La española Way. Enjoy a Cuban mojito while dancing to salsa music on 8th Street.

A must is to go watch a Miami Heat basketball game and a Florida Marlins baseball game, while eating a delicious hot dog with a refreshing beer.

Finally, go to a good party, in my case I like to go to a bar called Dante HiFi or the emblematic Lagniappe bar to eat a bite of cheese and drink a good wine while enjoying a jazz band. And to go out dancing, I recommend the salsa parties organized by Tigre Sound with their special guests.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife for being the first person to believe in my projects (and supporting me during difficult times). My family, especially my Mom and my brother, and the colleagues and friends who have accompanied me unconditionally during my career.

Website: https://willmerwilliams.wixsite.com/website

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willmerwilliams/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willmer-williams

Image Credits
Armando Añez