¡salsa!: Frameline 2022/23 Completion Fund Spotlight

¡salsa! (fka Bella noche)
Directed by Antonina Kerguelén Román · Colombia

Between sounds of congas and bongos, Margarita seeks freedom and connection in a place that judges those outside the norm. Her path crosses with Liana’s, a deaf tourist, at a seaside kiosk. Their difficulty to verbally communicate is what makes way for their bodies to speak by themselves through dance, sparking a flame between them.

“The process of accepting my sexual orientation was marked by the search for a character that positively represented me onscreen. I came across a lot of content that represented Colombians in hurtful ways, with no stories that even attempted to positively portray a gay woman. Embracing my sexuality was progressive, and came naturally as I realized underdogs existed everywhere. At its core, ¡salsa! is a story about two women who live outside of the ‘norm’ that society has imposed upon them. With these two characters, I wanted to merge two aspects of my personality that needed to coexist within me so I could free myself from the pressure of my culture’s ‘rules’.”

Antonina Kerguelén Román is a writer/director originally from Bogotá, Colombia. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art & Design. Currently, Antonina is a Creative Producer at AG Studios Colombia. Her film The Coffee Vendor (Desde sus ojos) was sponsored by the Bogota Short Film Festival after winning their “Work in Progress” Award, and was a finalist for the 2019 Sundance Ignite Fellowship. She is currently working on the development of her first feature film First Call, as well as the series Mala Junta.