Without the aid from our production supporters, the filming of The Camino Documentary would not have been the success that it was. Many thanks to those that helped us during our fundraising stage – each contribution of time, goods or services brings us closer to making this film a reality.
In order to finish The Camino Documentary, we welcome additional partnerships and funding. Donate today or help us connect with potential supporters!
Tour Spain has generously supported our documentary’s production efforts by providing two international, round-trip flights with Iberia Airlines, Spain’s flag-carrier airline. Tour Spain is every traveler’s number-one destination for all information about where to go, how to get there and what to do when planning a trip to Spain.
The Government of Navarra provided an incredibly hospitable welcome into Spain and helped us get our shoot off to a fantastic start. They graciously provided our entire crew with two nights of lodging at the beautifully restored Casa de Los Beneficiados, and four meals at Casa Sabina in Roncesvalles, the first Spanish town along the Camino Frances. Our crews were incredibly grateful for another two nights of private rooms, dinners and breakfasts at the riverside Hotel Tximista in Estella, courtesy of the Kingdom of Navarra. They also granted the B Crew a walking tour of historic Pamplona, which included an inside look at Hemingway’s famous estate. Lastly, our entire crew was treated to a grand dinner at Pamplona’s renowned Asador, as well as gift-bags including notebooks which came in extremely handy throughout the entire shoot.
During our time crossing La Rioja, the region's government treated us to the most exquisite food, beverages and delicacies. This included a multi-course dinner at Lorenzo Casa de Comidas in Logroño and an exclusive chocolate tasting at the Viena Café y Pastelería. One of the crew’s favorite outings was an unbelievable tasting-tour of Logroño’s famous tapas and wine district, Calle Laurel, where there are more bars per block than you can visit in one night. The government of La Rioja also arranged for both crews to stay two nights, complete with breakfast, at Logroño’s extravagant Hotel Carlton. Finally, our crewmembers were treated to three nights and family-style meals at La Rioja’s Camping Berceo, just before the edge of the region’s border. The accommodations and luxuries so generously provided by La Rioja’s government gave our crew a much needed breath as we transitioned into and out of our second stage of filming.
Our crews relished their one night’s stay in the decadent, five-star Parador Hotel in Spain’s historic city of León, kindly donated by the government of Castilla y León. Without their help, we also could not have gotten permission to shoot inside the Santa María de León Cathedral, a gothic masterpiece also known as “The House of Light” for its massive and intricate stained-glass features.
The Hotel Puerta del Camino was, by far, our biggest supporter in way of accommodations. As our pilgrims began to trickle into Santiago de Compostela, the hotel served as our home away from home in the Camino’s culminating city. This five-star hotel graciously fulfilled our every need for over a week; they housed us in their lavish quarters and served us phenomenal breakfasts; allotted ample and secure storage for our valuable equipment for extended periods of time; provided safe and quiet rooms for our on-site editing; and offered their lobby’s computers and printing services, as well as fast, free, wireless internet. Towards the end of our shoot, when we needed to return unexpectedly to Santiago, the Hotel Puerta del Camino gave us as many rooms as we needed at just a moment’s notice. With its exquisite piano lounges, dining rooms, swimming pool, tennis courts, professional conference rooms, and a remarkably helpful and friendly staff, we cannot recommend this hotel enough. We extend our utmost gratitude for their assistance during what was arguably the most pivotal moment in our pilgrims’ journey, and logistically the most complicated point in the film’s shooting.
Our crew was fortunate enough to have enjoyed Spain’s renowned, five-star Parador hotels on two occasions – once in the cultural center of historic León, and again in Santiago de Compostela, the last city along the traditional Camino Frances. In León, our crew took a much-appreciated refuge in the Parador’s stunning, private rooms overlooking the hotel’s tranquil labyrinth and staggering architecture. In Santiago de Compostela, our crewmembers and several of our pilgrims enjoyed a five-course meal, which, for the vegetarians among us, was arguably the finest of the trip. The doors of their Santiago location open to the legendary Plaza do Obradoiro, the site of every pilgrim’s triumph beneath the legendary Cathedral of Saint James.
When our original lodging was booked for a conference, the Hotel Monumento San Francisco stepped up and offered our crews two nights’ stay in their beautiful, Gothic walls. Originally a 13th century convent erected by Saint Francis of Assisi, and recently pronounced a Cultural Heritage Center for its library of 80,000 historical volumes, this breathtaking hotel has been restored to blend modern design with antiquated architecture. During our stay at this optimal location mere steps from the Cathedral of Saint James, we were offered daily breakfasts, gorgeously renovated rooms with views of Santiago, a delicious formal dinner, and multiple beautiful locations for conducting interviews with numerous pilgrims and both Catholic and Franciscan priests.
This expert data-storage solution company provided many housings for our numerous external hard drives on which we stored hundreds of hours of HD video-footage. After the wear and tear of a seven-week shoot, 500 miles, dozens of hostel-room setups, hundreds of van-loadings and unloadings – all without a single technical problem – our gratitude and faith lies unwaveringly in the durability, reliability and quality of WiebeTech’s products.
Huarte’s spacious municipal albergue, suited to house more than 60 pilgrims, was incredibly accommodating during preproduction and the first week of our filming. For a total of five nights, they provided bunkbeds in four large, lockable rooms to ensure the safety of our production equipment, a convenient launderette, Internet access, and a fully-equipped, communal kitchen where we enjoyed preparing many memorable crew dinners.
Our A Crew had the absolute pleasure of staying several nights at Amanecer en Campos in the Meseta’s Población de Campos, under the generous and loving care of two lovely hospitaleras, Inmaculada and Carmen. This center of rural tourism took us in, gave us rooms with beautiful skylights and comfortable beds, provided a safe room in which to store valuables, and fed us delightful, home-cooked meals – even when we returned from shooting at midnight or later. To say they treated us like family would be an understatement. Apart from their new, superb hotel, they also run the local pilgrim’s albergue in Población de Campos with the same love and care.
Two young hospitaleros, Livia and Unai, and their dog, Conan, welcomed us into their homey and impeccably clean Albergue de La Piedra. They were kind enough to offer bedrooms with quaint balconies for multiple crewmembers several nights in a row, good company over their communal kitchen table, and lockable space, fast wireless Internet, and all-day access for our on-site editing and blogging. Built right into the rock-face that splits the rivers of picturesque Villafranca del Bierzo, it is a truly unique, beautiful place to stay.
Beyond hosting several of our crewmembers during preproduction scouting, these two offered their profound thoughts about the Camino, the pilgrim experience, and the hospitalero perspective during the last stage of our filming. Paloma y Leña’s picture-perfect albergue makes one instantly feel at home – from its colorful walls, to free-roaming chickens and singing birds, to delicious meals cooked straight from the heart. It is located just before Sarria, in San Mamed del Camino.
During preproduction and production, this kind couple contributed invaluable advice, insight and contacts which proved essential in coordinating our shoot. Acacio y Orietta specifically put us in contact with Camino expert, Marcelo Mendonça, who turned out to be an irreplaceable member of our crew. Their instantly-inviting albergue, located in Viloria de Rioja, is one that no pilgrim should miss.
Various crewmembers throughout different phases of production were given rooms at A Reboleira, at which our Field Producer and Camino Expert, Marcelo Mendonça, frequently volunteers as a beloved hospitalero. Situated in the charming hamlet of Fonfría, named after the “cool fountain” from which you can fill your canteen, they offered us boarding in their pleasant ranch-style casitas and modern albergue with distinctive interior wood features.
This year-round, private hostel opened its doors to our A Crew on short notice. We were provided with cozy rooms for sleeping, editing and TV-watching, complete with a fantastic roof-top patio perfect for stargazing. They have a popular café with an outdoor area, which they let us use to shoot an interview with two of our main pilgrims. Nestled directly on the Camino at the base of the mountains just after Astorga, with space for horses and bicycles, the Hospedería San Blas is one social spot.
This deceptively large albergue, found just before Astorga in San Martín del Camino, contributed one night’s stay to our A Crew, as well as a safe storage room for our editing system for the night. Features include a communal dining room and a calming garden rest-area.
John Brierley’s Camino Guides provided each of our crewmembers with A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago – a first-hand and especially insightful guide to walking the Camino Francés. From our pre-production coordination, to our navigation and production on the Camino, to our chronological organization and logging of footage, we have been using this guidebook through every stage of the documentary’s making. For this knowledgeable and comprehensive reference, as well the valuable contacts and consultation from John Brierley himself, we cannot give enough thanks.
This independent sport-aviation business and pilot training school provided our Director of Photography, Pedro Valenzuela, with an hour-long flight above León and the surrounding area, to record the film’s aerial shots of the Camino.
